Sun Yat-sen Dies: Father of Modern China
Sun Yat-sen spent most of his radical career in exile, raising money from overseas Chinese communities to overthrow the Qing dynasty from abroad. He was in Denver raising funds when the 1911 revolution actually succeeded without him. He returned, was elected provisional president, then almost immediately handed power to Yuan Shikai to prevent civil war. The plan failed — Yuan tried to make himself emperor. Sun spent years afterward trying to unify China, allying with Soviet advisors when Western powers wouldn't help. He died in Beijing in 1925, with the country still fragmented. Both the Nationalists and the Communists claim him as their founding father. Born March 12, 1866.
March 12, 1925
101 years ago
Key Figures & Places
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