Mussolini leading a march through Rome, Italy, 1922. Benito Mussolini (1883-1945) became Prime Minister of Italy in October 1922 after thousands of members of his Fascist Party marched from Naples to Rome. Fearing the possibility of a civil war, King Victor Emmanuel III refused to sign Prime Minster Luigi Facta's order declaring a state of siege and instead handed power to Mussolini.
