Giuseppe Garibaldi
1807–1882 · Italian · Italian Unification (Risorgimento)
Known for: Unified Italy with his Red Shirts—the most celebrated military adventurer in history
Giuseppe Garibaldi was the swashbuckling revolutionary who made Italian unification possible through sheer charisma and military daring. With his thousand Red Shirts, he conquered the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies in one of history's most improbable military campaigns, then handed everything to King Victor Emmanuel II.
He was an international celebrity—Abraham Lincoln offered him a command in the Union Army (he declined because Lincoln wouldn't immediately abolish slavery). He fought for liberty on three continents: South America, Europe, and offered to fight in the American Civil War. He was brave, romantic, incorruptible, and the most popular man in 19th-century Europe.
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