born June 6, 1896, near Ferrara, Italy
died June 28, 1940, Tobruk, Libya
Italian aviator and politician.
He led the fascist Blackshirts in the March on Rome (1922) and served under Benito Mussolini as general of militia (1923) and air minister (1929–33). Balbo developed Italian military and commercial aviation and became famous for promoting mass international flights to demonstrate Italy's air power. He was appointed governor of Libya in 1933 and died when his plane was accidentally shot down by Italian guns over Tobruk.