Ruler · Twentieth century · China

Sun Yat-sen

1866–1925

Founder of the Republic of China, 1866 to 1925, called the father of modern China in both Taiwan and the mainland. His Revolutionary Alliance overthrew the Qing dynasty in the Xinhai Revolution of 1911, and he served briefly as provisional president in 1912. He founded the Kuomintang and allied it with the Soviet Union before his death.