Eulalio Gutiérrez
A revolutionary general chosen as Mexico's provisional president to unite warring factions, only to see the nation plunge back into civil war within months.
1881–1939 (age 58)·President of Mexico from 1914 to 1915·Birthday: February 4·The Gilded Age
Biography
Eulalio Gutiérrez's presidency was a brief, turbulent episode at the heart of the Mexican Revolution's most chaotic period. A miner turned military officer from Coahuila, he fought under Francisco Madero and later Pancho Villa. In late 1914, after the overthrow of Victoriano Huerta, the major revolutionary leaders convened in Aguascalientes to try to forge a government. Gutiérrez, seen as a compromise figure, was elected provisional president. His authority, however, was immediately hollow. The convention's attempt to sideline the two strongest warlords, Venustiano Carranza and Pancho Villa, failed spectacularly. From the moment he took office in November 1914, Gutiérrez presided over a government with no army and no territory, while the real power resided with Villa and Emiliano Zapata, who occupied Mexico City. By January 1915, realizing his position was untenable, he fled the capital, issuing a manifesto condemning all the major revolutionary chieftains. His short, impossible term illustrated the tragic gap between revolutionary idealism and the hard realities of military power during Mexico's decade of violence.
The Gilded Age
1860–1882
Born during or after the Civil War, they built industrial America — the railroads, the steel mills, the first skyscrapers. An era of massive wealth, massive inequality, and the belief that the future belonged to whoever could build it fastest.
Eulalio was born in 1881, placing them squarely in The Gilded Age. The events that shaped this generation — world wars, depression, and rapid industrialization — shaped the world they entered and the choices available to them.
#1 When Eulalio Was Born
The biggest hits of 1881
Eulalio's Life & Times
The world at every milestone
1881Born
President: Chester A. Arthur
1886Started school
Statue of Liberty dedicated in New York Harbor
President: Grover Cleveland
1894Became a teenager
President: Grover Cleveland
1897Could drive
President: William McKinley
1899Could vote
President: William McKinley
1902Turned 21
The eruption of Mount Pelee kills 30,000 in Martinique
President: Theodore Roosevelt
1911Turned 30
Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire kills 146 in New York
President: William Howard Taft
1921Turned 40
First commercial radio broadcasts
President: Warren G. Harding"My Man" — Fanny Brice
1931Turned 50
The Empire State Building opens as the world's tallest
Gas: $0.17/galPresident: Herbert Hoover"Minnie the Moocher" — Cab CallowayBest Picture: Cimarron
1939Died at 58
World War II begins; The Wizard of Oz premieres
Gas: $0.19/galMin wage: $0.30/hrPresident: Franklin D. Roosevelt"Over the Rainbow" — Judy GarlandBest Picture: Gone with the Wind
Key Achievements
- Elected provisional President of Mexico by the Aguascalientes Convention in November 1914, attempting to unify revolutionary factions.
- Served as a military commander in the Division of the North under Pancho Villa during the Revolution.
- Issued the 'Manifesto of the General in Chief' in January 1915, denouncing Villa, Zapata, and Carranza before abandoning the presidency.
- Previously served as a senator and governor in his home state of Coahuila.
Did You Know?
Before the revolution, he worked as a miner and a shopkeeper.
His presidential term lasted only 71 days, from November 6, 1914, to January 16, 1915.
After leaving the presidency, he lived in exile in the United States for a period before returning to Mexico.
He is buried in the Panteón de Dolores in Mexico City.
“The revolution is a storm, and I am but a captain trying to steer the ship through it.”
