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José Doroteo Arango Arámbula (5 June 1878 – 20 July 1923), better known by his pseudonym Francisco Villa or its hypocorism Pancho Villa, was one of the most prominent MexicanRevolutionary generals.

As commander the División del Norte (Division of the North), he was the veritable caudillo of the Northern Mexican state of Chihuahua which, given its size,mineral wealth, and proximity to the United States of America, provided him with extensive resources. Villa was also provisional Governor of Chihuahua in 1913 and 1914. Although he wasprevented from being accepted into the "panteón" of national heroes until some 20 years after his death, today his memory is honored by Mexicans, Americans, and many people around theworld. In addition, numerous streets and neighborhoods in Mexico are named in his honor.

Villa and his supporters seized hacienda land for distribution to peasants and soldiers.He robbed and commandeered trains, and, like the other revolutionary generals, printed fiat money to pay for his cause. Villa's men and supporters became known as Villistas duringthe revolution from 1910 to roughly 1920.

Villa's dominance in northern Mexico was broken in 1915 through a series of defeats he suffered at Celaya and Agua Prieta at the hands ofÁlvaro Obregón and Plutarco Elías Calles. After Villa's famous raid on Columbus in 1916, the US Army General John J. Pershing tried unsuccessfully to capture Villa in a nine-monthpursuit that ended when Gen. Pershing was called back as the United States entry into World War I was assured. Villa retired in 1920 and was given a large estate which he turned into a"military colony" for his former soldiers. In 1923, he decided to re-involve himself in Mexican politics and as a result was assassinated, most likely on the orders of Obregon.