Background
Villa was born on June 5, 1878 in San Juan del Río, Durango, Mexico. His father was a sharecropper named Agustín Arango, and his mother was Micaela Arámbula. He was the oldest of five children.
military officer revolutionist
Villa was born on June 5, 1878 in San Juan del Río, Durango, Mexico. His father was a sharecropper named Agustín Arango, and his mother was Micaela Arámbula. He was the oldest of five children.
As a child, Villa received some education from a local church-run school, but was not proficient in more than basic literacy. He quit school to help his mother after his father died.
Villa's operations as a bandit leader impelled the government of Porfirio Díaz to put a price on his head, and in 1910 he sided with Francisco Madero in a revolt against the Díaz regime. Villa was captured by General Huerta but escaped to Texas. Returning to Mexico in 1914, Villa joined General Carranza in opposition to Huerta, who had become president but had failed to obtain United States recognition. After driving Huerta out of the country, Villa and Carranza campaigned against each other, and Villa was finally driven across the border by Carranza's general, Álvaro Obregón. When the United States recognized Carranza's government, Villa became embittered and his retaliation reached a climax in his raid on Columbus, New Mexico, on March 9, 1916, in which his men killed 16 Americans. President Wilson sent United States troops under Gen. John J. Pershing to capture Villa, but Carranza protested American entry into Mexico and Pershing's attempt failed. In 1920, when Obregón became president, the Mexican government's gift of a ranch persuaded Villa to retire from the political scene. He was assassinated near Parral, July 20, 1923.
Governor of Chihuahua (1913-1914)
On 29 May 1911, Villa married María Luz Corral. After Villa's death, Luz Corral's marriage to Villa was challenged in court twice, and both times it was upheld as valid. Together, Villa and Luz Corral had one child, a daughter, who died within a few years after birth. Villa had long term relationships with several women. Austreberta Rentería was Villa's "official wife" at his hacienda of Canutillo, and Villa had two sons with her, Francisco and Hipólito. Others were Soledad Seañez, Manuela Casas with whom Villa had a son, and Juana Torres to whom he wed in 1913 and with whom he had a daughter.
