Benito Mussolini, the former prime minister of Italy, passed away on April 28, 1945 at the age of 61. Born in Predappio, Romagna on July 29, 1883, Mussolini rose to prominence during WWI as a politician, journalist, and author and became Italy’s Prime Minister in October of 1922. He formed a fascist party and established a totalitarian regime and dictatorship. He quickly solidified his power and appealed to and manipulated the country’s working class. He furthered his military agenda by signing the Pact of Steel with Nazi Germany in 1939, made Italy a part of the Axis Powers, and eventually fought alongside Germany in World War II. As the war began to turn against them, in 1943 he was removed as Prime Minister and in 1945, after attempting to escape to Austria, was captured, imprisoned and eventually shot. He left behind a wife, Rachele Guidi, and five children.