Chiang Kai-shek was a Chinese nationalist politician and military leader who was President of the Republic of China, born in Xikou on October 31, 1887. His father was a merchant who died when Chiang was eight years old. Chiang became an officer in the army of the Manchu empire, but supported the Chinese Xinhai Revolution of 1911 that converted China into a republic.
He led the Republic of China from 1930 to 1949 on mainland China until he was overthrown by Mao Zedong in the Chinese Civil War. He fled to Taiwan where he ruled from 1950 until his death in 1975, although his government was still officially called the Republic of China.