Sun Yat-sen

Sun Yat-sen (November 12, 1866 – March 12, 1925) was a Chinese revolutionary and political leader often referred to as the "father of modern China". Sun played an instrumental role in the eventual overthrow of the Qing Dynasty in 1911. He was the first provisional president when the Republic of China (ROC) was founded in 1912 and later co-founded the Kuomintang (KMT) where he served as its first leader. Sun was a uniting figure in post-Imperial China, and remains unique among 20th-century Chinese politicians for being widely revered in both Mainland China and in Taiwan.

Although Sun is considered one of the greatest leaders of modern China, his political life was one of constant struggle and frequent exile. After the success of the revolution, he quickly fell out of power in the newly-founded Republic of China, and led successive revolutionary governments as a challenge to the warlords who controlled much of the nation. Sun did not live to see his party bring about consolidation of power over the country. His party, which formed a fragile alliance with the Communists, split into two factions after his death. Suns chief legacy resides in his developing a political philosophy known as the Three Principles of the People (nationalism, democracy, and the peoples livelihood/welfare).