Manuel Mondragón

Manuel Mondragón
Born	1859 Ixtlahuaca, State of Mexico
Died	1952 (Aged 93) San Sebastián, Spain
Allegiance	Mexico
Years of service	1880 - 1914
Rank	General de División
Commands held	Secretario de Guerra y Marina
Battles/wars	Mexican Revolution
Awards	Légion d'honneur
Relations	artist/poet Carmen Mondragón (Nahui Ollin)

Manuel Mondragón was a Mexican military officer who played a prominent role in the Mexican Revolution. He was born in Ixtlahuaca, State of Mexico in 1859 and died in exile in Spain in 1952. He graduated from the Mexican Military Academy as an artillery officer in 1880. He designed the first semi-automatic rifle and automatic rifle of the world, the Mondragon rifle, and a 75mm howitzer. General Mondragón was father of artist and poet Carmen Mondragón, better known as Nahui Ollin.

Porfiriato

As an adolescent Mondragón entered the Military Academy of Chapultepec, where he specialised in artillery. Upon finishing his studies, he worked developing military materiel. He modified the French 75mm howitzer, earning a name for himself among Porfirist military circles. He perfected a repeating rifle and a 75mm howitzer (the Saint Chaumond-Mondragón), both of which still bear his name. In 1904 he wrote a manual Description and employment of the instruments for preparing and executing fires, and in 1910 Description of rapid-fire 75mm materiel. In 1907 he was named Director of the Department of Artillery.

He initiated a project on military organic law, based on mandatory military service, and as professor of the Military Academy released a work in 1910 entitled Defense of the Coasts. The artillery at the ports of Salina Cruz on the Pacific and Puerto México on the Gulf are due to his efforts.

As a military officer during the Porfirato, he worked against the Maderista movement. In September 1911, he took leave from the Federal Army, but in 1913 returned, reincorporated in the army to support Gregorio Ruiz in the anti-Maderista rebellion of the Decena trágica. He is suspected of having assassinated the Mexican President Francisco I. Madero and his Vice-President José María Pino.

Revolution

At the side of Bernardo Reyes and Félix Díaz, Mondragón assisted in the start of the rebellion and coup against Francisco I. Madero. He allied with General Victoriano Huerta as Madero was obliged to renounce the presidency, thus frustrating the start of a new democratic direction in the country. Upon Huerta's assumption of the presidency, Mondragón was named Secretary of War and the Navy. He served in this position only a short time, as in June he resigned amid accusations from prominent Huertist politicians and public opinion of his culpability in the advance of revolutionary forces, due to his incompetence and poor planning in the campaign against them.

Exile

Following these accusations, Victoriano Huerta expelled Mondragón from Mexico, heeding the remour of a plot to overthrow him. Mondragón left for Spain, where the government of France awarded him the Légion d'honneur. General Manuel Mondragón died in San Sebastián in 1952.

Bibliography

• Francisco Naranjo. Diccionario biográfico Revolucionario. Imprenta Editorial "Cosmos", Mexico, 1935. ISBN 968-805-293-0

Persondata
Name	Mondragón, Manuel
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	1859
Place of birth	Ixtlahuaca, Estado de México
Date of death	1922
Place of death	San Sebastián, Spain