04
Accidental Geniuses:
People Who Changed the World with Th
eir
Second Careers
BENITO MUSSOLINI
Original Occupation:
elementary schoolteacher
Second Career:
fascist dictator
Reason for Switch:
tough job market
How He Changed the World:
Mussolini had to work his
way up to dictator, of course, but that’s a lot easier than
fi nding a teaching position that pays a living wage. Musso-
lini was certifi ed as an elementary schoolmaster in 1901,
but when he moved to Switzerland in search of work, he
couldn’t fi nd any. It’s hard to know whether to be grateful.
On the one hand, no one would wish Mussolini on unsus-
pecting young minds, but if he’d found fulfi llment in Swit-
zerland, he might not have returned to Italy and taken a job
reporting and editing for a small newspaper. After serving
in World War I, he returned to editing, but his increasing
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