Sun Yat-sen
1866–1925 · Chinese (Guangdong/Hawaii/various) · Late Qing Dynasty / Republic of China
Known for: Father of the Chinese Republic—overthrew the Qing Dynasty and founded modern China
Sun Yat-sen was a Hawaiian-educated doctor who became the leading revolutionary against the Qing Dynasty. After decades of failed uprisings, he finally helped topple the last imperial dynasty in 1911 and was briefly the first president of the Republic of China.
He's the rare figure revered by both Communist China and Taiwan. His Three Principles of the People (nationalism, democracy, livelihood) influenced both the KMT and CPC. He died of cancer in 1925 before achieving his dream of a unified, democratic China.
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