Gaetano Bresci

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Gaetano Bresci

Gaetano Bresci (born November 11, 1869 in Coiano (district of Prato ), † May 22, 1901 on the island of Santo Stefano ) was the assassin of the Italian king Umberto I.

resume

Gaetano Bresci was born in Tuscany in 1869 and later emigrated to the United States . He found a job as a weaver in Paterson , New Jersey . Shortly afterwards he married and became a father. Soon he had first contacts with a group of Italian anarchists . He joined this group and later became one of the co-editors of the Italian anarchism magazine La Questione Sociale . He used his $ 15 wages to support the newspaper.

In 1898 demonstrations broke out in Italy after wheat prices rose. At a demonstration in Milan , General Bava Beccaris opened fire on unarmed demonstrators as they approached the royal palace. There were between 82 (official estimate) and 300 (estimate of the demonstrators) dead. King Umberto I later honored the general for his bravery and thanked him for his "courageous defense" of the royal palace.

Carrara , monument to Gaetano Bresci

Bresci named this as the reason for the assassination attempt on the king. He asked for the $ 150 back that he had made available to his newspaper by then and traveled to Italy. When the king visited Monza on July 29, 1900, Bresci shot the king three times; he died shortly afterwards. After the crime, Bresci was arrested and put on trial. On August 29, 1900, he was sentenced to hard labor in prison on the island of Santo Stefano . There he was found dead in his cell on May 22, 1901 . There was and is also the theory that he did not commit suicide but was killed by the guards.

Shortly after Bresci's arrest, Leon Czolgosz , the assassin on the President of the United States , William McKinley , said he was inspired by the act of Bresci.

reception

  • Colpo al Cuoro - the sudden death of a ruler Italy 2011, documentary by Teleimagini, 53 min

literature

Web links

Commons : Gaetano Bresci  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Adolphus William Ward , George Walter Prothero , Stanley Leathes (eds.): Riots at Milan . In: The Cambridge Modern History , Vol. XII, The Latest Age. University Press, Cambridge 1910, p. 220.
  2. ^ Fiorenzo Bava Beccaris on the website of the Italian Senate, accessed August 27, 2016
  3. ↑ The majority of witnesses said they heard three shots. Gianni Oliva: I Savoia: novecento anni di una dinastia . Mondadori, Milan 1998, p. 434.
personal data
SURNAME Bresci, Gaetano
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Assassin on the Italian King Umberto I.
DATE OF BIRTH November 11, 1869
PLACE OF BIRTH Coiano , Tuscany , Italy
DATE OF DEATH May 22, 1901
Place of death Santo Stefano island , Italy