18 moments

1. Birth in Guangzhou

   1917-04-26 · Guangzhou, Guangdong, Republic of China

   Pei was born in Guangzhou, beginning a life that would span China, the United States, and international architectural practice.

2. Family relocation to Hong Kong

   1918-01-01 · Hong Kong, British Hong Kong

   As an infant, Pei moved with his family from Guangzhou to Hong Kong. Year is derived from the source's statement that the family moved one year after his April 26, 1917 birth.

3. Arrival in San Francisco

   1935-01-01 · San Francisco, California, United States

   Pei entered the United States to begin his architectural education.

4. MIT studies begin

   1935-01-01 · Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States

   Pei transferred to MIT after finding the University of Pennsylvania program unsuitable, beginning the education that led to his 1940 architecture degree.

5. University of Pennsylvania arrival

   1935-01-01 · University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States

   After landing in San Francisco, Pei continued by train to Philadelphia for his initial American university enrollment. Coordinates identify the University of Pennsylvania campus, where he enrolled.

6. Visit to Taliesin

   1938-01-01 · Taliesin, Spring Green, Wisconsin, United States

   Pei traveled to Frank Lloyd Wright's Taliesin hoping to meet Wright, an early episode in his engagement with American modern architecture.

7. Harvard Graduate School of Design enrollment

   1942-12-01 · Harvard Graduate School of Design, Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States

   Pei entered Harvard's Graduate School of Design, where he worked with Walter Gropius and Marcel Breuer.

8. Return to Harvard after wartime work

   1945-01-01 · Harvard Graduate School of Design, Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States

   After his National Defense Research Committee service, Pei returned to Harvard and became an assistant professor of design. The source supports autumn 1945 but the required date format does not allow a season.

9. Webb and Knapp career begins

   1948-01-01 · New York City, New York, United States

   Pei began his long formative association with developer William Zeckendorf in New York City. The MIT account dates this employment period from 1948 through its preceding biographical chronology.

10. NCAR site research

    1961-01-01 · Mesa Laboratory, Boulder, Colorado, United States

    

    Pei surveyed the Colorado landscape while developing the National Center for Atmospheric Research's Mesa Laboratory. The source places this survey after Pei was approached in 1961 to design the laboratory outside Boulder.

11. Dallas City Hall survey

    1964-01-01 · Dallas City Hall, Dallas, Texas, United States

    

    Pei surveyed Dallas and met local residents while shaping the design for the new city hall. The survey is described in the account of the Dallas commission initiated in 1964; the source does not give a more precise date.

12. First return to China

    1975-01-01 · Fragrant Hills, Beijing, China

    Pei returned to China for the first time since moving to the United States, undertaking the Fragrant Hills hotel commission. Coordinates represent the Fragrant Hills Hotel area.

13. Secret Louvre feasibility visits

    1981-01-01 · Louvre Museum, Paris, France

    Pei made confidential trips to Paris to assess the proposed Louvre modernization, initiating his consequential work on the Grand Louvre. The visits are described immediately after the source's 1981 account of François Mitterrand's election and the invitation to Pei; individual trip dates are not given.

14. Fragrant Hill Hotel completion work

    1982-01-01 · Fragrant Hills Hotel, Beijing, China

    

    Near the Fragrant Hill Hotel opening, Pei personally helped ready the building, illustrating his hands-on involvement in the project. The hotel opened on October 17, 1982; the source does not provide the exact day of Pei's work at the site.

15. Weekend at Katonah home

    1982-01-01 · Katonah, New York, United States

    While considering the Bank of China Tower commission, Pei retreated to his family home in Katonah, where he developed the building's cascading-form concept. The trip is described in the account of the Bank of China offer received in 1982.

16. Presidential Medal of Freedom ceremony

    1992-12-11 · East Room, White House, Washington, D.C., United States

    Pei attended the White House ceremony at which President George H. W. Bush presented him with the Presidential Medal of Freedom. The presidential remarks state that medals were presented after naming Pei among the award winners and specify that the ceremony occurred in the East Room.

17. MIT Louvre conversation

    1994-06-04 · Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States

    Pei discussed the conceptualization, design, and construction of the Louvre revitalization in a recorded conversation at MIT.

18. Death in New York City

    2019-05-16 · New York City, New York, United States

    Pei died in New York City at age 102, ending an architectural career that had continued through retirement as consulting work.