Mao Zedong was born to a relatively wealthy peasant family in the waning days of the nineteenth century, as China's last dynasty crumbled from within. With charisma, luck and ruthlessness, Mao rose to be the founding leader of a new Communist nation, the People's Republic of China.
This timeline highlights the most important events of his lifetime.
Mao Zedong's Early Life
Public domain via Wikipedia
Birth at Shaoshan, Primary School, First Marriage, Hunan Famine, Revolution and Fall of the Qing Dynasty, Normal School Education, Graduation, Travel to Beijing, Second Marriage
Mao Learns about Marxism, Turns from Nationalism to Communism
Public domain via Wikipedia
Mao Works at Library and Learns about Marx, Attends First Session of National Congress of the Communist Party, Becomes a Delegate to the Kuomintang (Nationalist) Conference, Death of Sun Yat-Sen, Chiang Kai-Shek Attacks Communists, Mao Returns to Hunan, Mao Leads Autumn Harvest Uprising, KMT Sends 1 Million + Soldiers Against Mao and Communists, Mao's Third Marriage, Kuomintang Captures and Executes Mao's Second Wife
Mao Gathers Power and Fame
Public domain via Wikipedia
Establishment of Soviet Republic of China, Red Terror - Communists Torture and Murder Thousands, Red Guard 45,000 Strong, Chiang Kai-Shek's KMT Surrounds Communists, Long March, Mao Publishes "On Contradiction" and "On Practice," Third Wife Leaves Mao over Affairs, Second Sino-Japanese War, Mao Marries Fourth Wife Jiang Qing ("Madame Mao"), Advocates "Stern Measures" against Peasants, Launches "Rectification of Conduct Campaign" to Purge Other Communist Leaders
Chairman Mao and the Founding of the People's Republic of China
U.S. Government
Mao becomes Chairman of the Chinese Communist Party, US Sends Dixie Mission to Meet China's Communists, Mao Talks with Chiang Kai-Shek and George Marshall But No Peace Deal, Final Stages of Chinese Civil War, Huge KMT Losses, People's Republic of China Founded, Mass Executions of Landlords and Other "Rightists," Communists Capture Last KMT Stronghold and Chiang Kai-Shek Flees to Taiwan, Sino-Soviet Friendship Treaty, Mao's Son Anying Killed in Korean War
The First Decade: Triumph and Disaster
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Mao Orders Invasion of Tibet, "Anti" Campaigns - Hundreds of Thousands Driven to Suicide or Executed, Mao Bans Political Parties Except CCP, First Five-Year Plan for Industrialization, Mao Becomes President of People's Republic, Hundred Flowers Campaign Encourages Dissent, Jiang Qing to Moscow for Cancer Treatment, Anti-Rightist Movement Squelches Dissent, Great Leap Forward Kills Tens of Millions, Soviet Premier Khrushchev Visits Mao
Trouble at Home and Abroad
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Mao Relinquishes Presidency, Sino-Soviet Split, "Conference of the 7,000" and Liu Shaoqi Denounces Great Leap Forward, Sino-Indian War, Publication of Mao's "Little Red Book," Cultural Revolution, Red Guards Besiege Soviet Embassy in Beijing, China Tests First Hydrogen Bomb, Soviet Troops Deploy on Border With Xinjiang, Soviet and Chinese Armies Clash along Border
Mao's Decline and Death
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Soviets Threaten to Nuke China, Henry Kissinger Visits Beijing, President Nixon Visits Beijing, Mao Loses Ability to Speak, Deng Xiaopeng Returns From Purge as Party Secretary, Chiang Kai-Shek Dies in Taiwan, Mao Zedong Dies and Hua Guofeng Succeeds Him, Jiang Qing and Other Members of "Gang of Four" Arrested, Cultural Revolution is Over
