Portrait of Victoriano Huerta

Birthday profile

Victoriano Huerta

Victoriano Huerta, Mexican general and politician, 35th President of Mexico (died 1916)

Born
December 22, 1850
Died
January 13, 1916
Zodiac sign
Capricorn
Birth year
1850

About Victoriano Huerta

José Victoriano Huerta Márquez (Spanish pronunciation: [biɣtoˈɾjano ˈweɾta]; 23 December 1850 – 13 January 1916) was a Mexican general, statesman, engineer, and dictator who served as the 39th President of Mexico from 1913 to 1914 and came to power by coup against the democratically elected government of Francisco I. Madero with the aid of other Mexican generals and the U.S. Ambassador to Mexico. Establishing a military dictatorship, his violent seizure of power set off a new wave of armed conflict in the Mexican Revolution. After a military career under President and dictator Porfirio Díaz and Interim President Francisco León de la Barra, Huerta became a high-ranking officer during the presidency of Madero during the first phase of the Mexican Revolution (1911–13). In February 1913, Huerta joined a conspiracy against Madero, who entrusted him to control a revolt in Mexico City. The Ten Tragic Days – actually fifteen days – saw the forced resignation of Madero and his vice president and their murders. The coup was backed by the German Empire as well as the United States under the Taft administration. But the succeeding Wilson administration refused to recognize the new regime which had come to power by coup. The U.S. allowed arms sales to rebel forces. Many foreign powers did recognize the regime, including Britain and Germany, but withdrew further support when revolutionary forces started to show military success against the regime; their continuing support of him threatened their own relationships with the U.S. government. Huerta's government resisted the U.S. incursion into the port of Veracruz that violated Mexico's sovereignty. Even Huerta's opponents agreed with his stance. The Constitutionalist Army, the forces of the northern coalition opposing Huerta, defeated the Federal Army, winning a decisive victory at the Battle of Zacatecas. Huerta was forced to resign in July 1914 and flee the country to Spain, only 17 months into his presidency, after the Federal Army collapsed. While attempting to intrigue with German spies in the U.S. during World War I, Huerta was arrested in 1915 and died in U.S. custody. His supporters were known as Huertistas during the Mexican Revolution. He is still vilified as a traitor by modern-day Mexicans, who generally refer to him as El Chacal ("The Jackal") or El Usurpador ("The Usurper").

Biography source: Wikipedia. The profile adds birthday-specific historical context from the Celebs Birthday Today editorial database.

Career and life highlights

The world when Victoriano Huerta was born

Victoriano Huerta was born in 1850. The year snapshot below places that birthday in its cultural and historical setting: the music and films people were following, the headlines shaping public life, and the everyday prices families encountered.

Culture in 1850

  • Best-selling bookThe Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne

Headlines and milestones

  • Top headlineCompromise of 1850 on slavery
  • Technology milestoneFirst submarine telegraph cable (English Channel)
  • World population~1.3B

United States snapshot

  • U.S. leaderZachary Taylor / Millard Fillmore
  • U.S. population23.2M

1850 versus 2026

These figures put everyday life in Victoriano Huerta's birth year beside the site's latest United States snapshot.

Measure18502026
Population23.2M341 million

Sources and editorial standards

This profile combines a biographical source with structured birthday and historical context. Sources recorded for this profile: Wikipedia, Encyclopaedia Britannica, Library of Congress, Wikidata. See our editorial policy for sourcing, corrections, and review standards.

Read the source biography on Wikipedia. Wikipedia text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License.