When he was young, the Mexicans killed his mother, wife and three children in one attack. That was why he took a vengeful assault in which he was named “Geronimo”.
Indian war chief Geronimo belonged to a tribe of Apache and was born in what is now the state of New Mexico. His real Indian name was Goyaale (meaning “one who yawns”). When he was young, the Mexicans killed his mother, wife and three children in one attack. That was why he took a revengeful assault in which he was named “Geronimo”.
There are two theories about the origin of this name. The first is that the Mexican soldiers cried out in terror “Jeronimo!”, “Jeronimo!” invoking the help of St. Jerome. Another theory is that Geronimo is a distorted pronunciation of his real Indian name Goyaale.
After the fore mentioned murdered wife, Geronimo had seven more wives. Under his leadership, the Apaches aggressively attacked the Mexicans as well as the Americans in the states of Arizona, New Mexico, and Texas. In 1886, after a long pursuit, Geronimo surrendered to the Americans. He was taken as a prisoner of war. In his old age he was presented at trade fairs as a sensation. He was never allowed to return to his native land, and died on this day at the age of 80 of pneumonia, after 22 years in captivity.
