Violet Gibson and the first attempt to Assassinate Benito Mussolini.
The place: Piazza del Campidoglio, Rome.
The date: 7th April, 1926.
The crime: Attempted assassination
The target: Benito Mussolini, Prime Minister of Italy. (Il Duce).
The would-be assassin: Violet Gibson.
The facts:
After giving a speech to the society of surgeons Benito Mussolini made his way by car across the Piazza. As the vehicle moved slowly through the gathered crowd of supporters eager for a glimpse of the Duce, a woman stepped forward and fired a shot which, first shattering the car window, grazed the nose of the target. The women then attempted a second shot, but the gun was defective and failed to fire. Violet Gibson, would be assassin, was immediately set upon by the crowd of Mussolini supporters. The Police stepped in to arrest her and removed her from the scene. Mussolini, a plaster quickly applied to his grazed nose, declared the incident “a mere trifle” and continued with his engagements.
The background:
