Simón Berthold Chacón was a Mexican

anarchist Anarchism is a political philosophy and movement that is skeptical of all justifications for authority and seeks to abolish the institutions it claims maintain unnecessary coercion and hierarchy, typically including, though not neces ...

militant who acted as a commander of the

Liberal Army The Mexican Liberal Party (PLM; es, Partido Liberal Mexicano) was started in August 1900 when engineer Camilo Arriaga published a manifesto entitled ''Invitacion al Partido Liberal'' (Invitation to the Liberal Party). The invitation was addr ...

during the

Magonista rebellion of 1911 The Magonista rebellion of 1911 was an early uprising of the Mexican Revolution organized by the Liberal Party of Mexico (, PLM), which was only successful in northern Baja California. It is named after Ricardo Flores Magón, one of the leaders ...

Baja California Baja California (; 'Lower California'), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Baja California ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Baja California), is a state in Mexico. It is the northernmost and westernmost of the 32 federal entities of Mex ...

Biography

Simón Berthold Chacón was born in Nacozari,

Sonora Sonora (), officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Sonora ( en, Free and Sovereign State of Sonora), is one of the 31 states which, along with Mexico City, comprise the Federal Entities of Mexico. The state is divided into 72 municipalities; the ...

, son of a German father and a Mexican mother. He emigrated to the United States. He was a member of the

Mexican Liberal Party The Mexican Liberal Party (PLM; es, Partido Liberal Mexicano) was started in August 1900 when engineer Camilo Arriaga published a manifesto entitled ''Invitacion al Partido Liberal'' (Invitation to the Liberal Party). The invitation was addr ...

(PLM) and was second in command of the Liberal Army Division in Baja California. On January 29, 1911, Berthold and

José María Leyva José María Leyva (2 April 1877 – 1956) was a militant guerrilla in the (PLM, Mexican Liberal Party), who was a general in the in Baja California. Biography Leyva was born in Tetaroba El Fuerte, Sinaloa, on 2 April 1877. He joined the M ...

took the town of

Mexicali Mexicali (; ) is the capital city of the Mexican state of Baja California. The city, seat of the Mexicali Municipality, has a population of 689,775, according to the 2010 census, while the Calexico–Mexicali metropolitan area is home to 1,000, ...

with a group of 30 guerrillas, marking the beginning of the

. At the end of February 1911, Berthold and Leyva informed the press that the objective of the campaign was to create an "independent socialist republic" or a cooperative commonwealth in Baja California. In March 1911, he attacked

Tecate Tecate () is a city in Tecate Municipality, Baja California. It is across the Mexico-US border from Tecate, California. As of 2019, the city had a population of 108,860 inhabitants, while the metropolitan area has a population of 132,406 inha ...

on two occasions, but without succeeding in capturing the plaza. Berthold then marched to

El Álamo El Álamo () is a municipality A municipality is usually a single administrative division having corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term '' ...

, a town southwest of Tecate, which the PLM managed to capture on March 21. However, on the way back to El Álamo, Berthold was wounded in the leg by a bullet by Alberto Rodríguez (El cachora), a sniper of indigenous origin, to whom the

Porfirian The written history of Mexico spans more than three millennia. First populated more than 13,000 years ago, central and southern Mexico (termed Mesoamerica) saw the rise and fall of complex indigenous peoples of Mexico, indigenous civilizations ...

s had supplied with a photograph of the PLM commander. He died of his wounds on April 14, 1911, in El Álamo,

References

{{reflist 1911 deaths Mexican anarchists Mexican guerrillas Mexican revolutionaries People of the Mexican Revolution