Origins & Early Life

Feng Guozhang (simplified Chinese: 冯国璋; traditional Chinese: 馮國璋; pinyin: Féng Guózhāng; Wade–Giles: Feng Kuo-chang; 7 January 1859 – 12 December 1919) was a Chinese general and politician in the late Qing dynasty and early republican China who served as the acting president of China from 1917 to 1918. He had also served as the vice president from 1916 to 1917, the governor of Jiangsu from 1913 to 1917, and the governor of Zhili from 1912 to 1913. He emerged as one of the senior commanders of the Beiyang Army and was the founder of the Zhili clique, one of the main factions during the Warlord Era in China. Feng was a first degree holder of the imperial examination and graduated from the Tianjin Military School.

Pivotal Works & Achievements

He served in northeastern China before and during the First Sino-Japanese War, and afterward was China's military attaché to Japan in 1895. His reports on the Japanese military reforms were brought to the attention of Yuan Shikai, who made Feng an officer in what later became the Beiyang Army. Feng rose through the ranks during the last decade of the Qing dynasty, serving as a division commander, the director of the military school for Manchu princes and nobles, and as the superintendent...

Enduring Legacy & Impact

The historical impact and works continue to influence the modern world.

Contemporary Figures & Related Historical Timelines

• Aleksandr Popov (physicist) — Contemporary (Born in 1859) (1859): Pioneering Russian physicist credited with early radio receiving technology.
• Alexander von Humboldt — Contemporary (Died in 1859) (1859): German polymath, geographer, and naturalist who pioneered biogeography and modern science.
• Alexis de Tocqueville — Contemporary (Died in 1859) (1859): French philosopher known for analyzing Western democracy and social trends.
• Akashi Motojiro — Contemporary (Died in 1919) (1919): General in the Imperial Japanese Army and Governor-General of Taiwan.
• Alfred Werner — Contemporary (Died in 1919) (1919): Pioneering chemist who established the field of modern coordination chemistry.
• Andrew Carnegie — Contemporary (Died in 1919) (1919): Scottish-American industrialist who pioneered the American steel industry and became a major philanthropist.
• Abd al-Rahman III — Shared historical date (01-07 · Born) (891): Founder of the Caliphate of Córdoba, a period of immense Islamic cultural zenith.
• Adolph Zukor — Shared historical date (01-07 · Born) (1873): Pioneering Hungarian-American film producer, co-founder of Paramount Pictures.
• Amos Oz — Shared historical date (12-28 · Died) (2018): Pioneering Israeli novelist, journalist, and intellectual whose works explored Palestinian life.
• Ante Pavelić — Shared historical date (12-28 · Died) (1959): Croatian politician and dictator of the Independent State of Croatia (1941-1945)
• 1859 Historical Timeline & Archive — Explore world events and figures from 1859
• January 7 (01-07) On This Day — Historical birthdays and events on January 7
• 1919 Historical Timeline & Archive — Explore world events and figures from 1919
• December 28 (12-28) On This Day — Historical events and memorials on December 28