Historical figures in Beijing
The atlas holds 23 people and 52 moments here, from 215 BC to 2023. The most recorded lives are Empress Dowager Cixi, Liu Xiaobo and Mao Zedong. Among them Political Leaders, Writers and Jurists, across the Space Age and the Cold War.
Notable people
Empress Dowager Cixi
from 1835 to 1908
10 moments here
Empress Dowager Cixi (Yehe Nara Xingzhen) was a Manchu noblewoman who exercised decisive power in the Qing government as empress dowager and regent…
Liu Xiaobo
from 1982 to 2009
8 moments here
Chinese literary critic, writer, professor, human-rights activist, and 2010 Nobel Peace Prize laureate.…
Mao Zedong
from 1919 to 1976
7 moments here
Chinese communist revolutionary and political leader who led the Chinese Communist Party and founded the People’s Republic of China.…
Li Keqiang
from 1978 to 2013
6 moments here
Chinese politician and economist who rose from rural labour in Anhui through the Communist Youth League, led Henan and Liaoning, served as vice…
Shinzo Abe
from 2006 to 2018
3 moments here
Japanese politician who served as Prime Minister of Japan from 2006 to 2007 and from 2012 to 2020.…
Ronald Reagan
in 1984
1 moment here
American broadcaster, actor, labor leader, governor of California, and 40th president of the United States.…
Nelson Mandela
in 1999
1 moment here
South African anti-apartheid revolutionary, lawyer and statesman. Mandela helped lead the African National Congress, co-founded its armed wing,…
Rabindranath Tagore
in 1924
1 moment here
Bengali poet, novelist, dramatist, composer, painter, philosopher, social reformer, and educationist.…
Marco Polo
in 1275
1 moment here
Venetian merchant, traveler, and author whose account describes journeys across Asia between 1271 and 1295.…
Margaret Thatcher
in 1984
1 moment here
British stateswoman Margaret Hilda Thatcher (née Roberts) was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1979 to 1990, the first woman to hold the…
Mikhail Gorbachev
in 1989
1 moment here
Soviet and Russian politician who led the Soviet Union from 1985 until its dissolution in 1991.…
Mother Teresa
in 1995
1 moment here
Anjezë Gonxhe Bojaxhiu, known as Mother Teresa or Saint Teresa of Calcutta, was an Albanian-Indian Catholic nun.…
George H. W. Bush
in 1989
1 moment here
George Herbert Walker Bush was an American naval aviator, oil executive, congressman, diplomat, director of central intelligence, vice president, and…
Qin Shi Huang
in 215 BC
1 moment here
Born Zhao Zheng at Handan, he became king of Qin as a child, completed the conquest of the rival Warring States, and proclaimed himself China’s First…
Jawaharlal Nehru
in 1939
1 moment here
Indian lawyer, anti-colonial nationalist and statesman who became independent India’s first prime minister, serving from 15 August 1947 until his…
Hugo Chávez
in 1999
1 moment here
Hugo Rafael Chávez Frías was a Venezuelan army officer and politician who led the failed February 1992 coup attempt, became president of Venezuela in…
Ibn Battuta
in 1345
1 moment here
Maghrebi Muslim jurist, traveller, explorer, and author from Tangier. Between 1325 and 1354 he journeyed through North and East Africa, the Middle…
Zheng He
in 1399
1 moment here
Zheng He (born Ma He) was a Ming Chinese admiral and diplomat who commanded seven state-sponsored voyages across the South China Sea and Indian…
Ho Chi Minh
in 1957
1 moment here
Vietnamese revolutionary and statesman, born Nguyễn Sinh Cung, who led the Việt Minh, proclaimed the Democratic Republic of Vietnam in 1945, and…
Benazir Bhutto
in 1995
1 moment here
Pakistani political leader who served twice as prime minister, from 1988 to 1990 and from 1993 to 1996.…
George Michael
in 1985
1 moment here
English singer-songwriter and record producer, born Georgios Kyriacos Panayiotou in East Finchley, England.…
Ebrahim Raisi
in 2023
1 moment here
Iranian cleric, judicial official, and politician who served as president of Iran from 2021 until his death in a helicopter crash in 2024.…
Chester Bennington
in 2016
1 moment here
American singer and songwriter best known as Linkin Park’s lead vocalist. His documented appearances include performances and recording-related…
Moments
- 215 BC Visits ancient Ji Qin Shi Huang
- 1275 Accompanies Kublai to Khanbaliq Marco Polo
- 1345 Claims audience in Beijing Ibn Battuta
- 1399 Defense of Zhenglunba reservoir Zheng He
- 1835 Birth in Beijing Empress Dowager Cixi
- 1852 Entry into the Forbidden City Empress Dowager Cixi
- 1856 Birth of Zaichun at the imperial palace Empress Dowager Cixi
- 1861 Residence at Chuxiu Palace Empress Dowager Cixi
- 1861 Return to Beijing during the Xinyou Coup Empress Dowager Cixi
- 1861 Regency from the Hall of Mental Cultivation Empress Dowager Cixi
- 1889 Retirement residence at the Summer Palace Empress Dowager Cixi
- 1894 Sixtieth-birthday commemoration Empress Dowager Cixi
- 1902 Ceremonious return to Beijing Empress Dowager Cixi
- 1908 Death at the Hall of Graceful Bird Empress Dowager Cixi
- 1919 Return to Beijing Mao Zedong
- 1924 Birthday at Peking Normal University Rabindranath Tagore
- 1939 Visit to China before World War II Jawaharlal Nehru
- 1949 Proclamation of the People's Republic Mao Zedong
- 1957 Mao–Khrushchev state visit Mao Zedong
- 1957 Stop in Beijing Ho Chi Minh
- 1966 Red Guard public appearance Mao Zedong
- 1972 Meeting with President Nixon Mao Zedong
- 1975 Meeting with President Ford Mao Zedong
- 1976 Death in Beijing Mao Zedong
- 1978 Law studies at Peking University Li Keqiang
- 1982 Communist Youth League secretary at Peking University Li Keqiang
- 1982 Moves to Beijing for graduate study Liu Xiaobo
- 1984 Visits Beijing Ronald Reagan
- 1984 Sino-British Joint Declaration Margaret Thatcher
- 1985 Wham! concert at Workers' Gymnasium George Michael
- 1988 Economics graduate studies at Peking University Li Keqiang
- 1988 Doctorate and lectureship at Beijing Normal University Liu Xiaobo
- 1989 Meetings in Beijing George H. W. Bush
- 1989 Returns to Beijing for the democracy movement Liu Xiaobo
- 1989 Sino-Soviet Summit Mikhail Gorbachev
- 1989 Tiananmen Square hunger strike Liu Xiaobo
- 1993 First secretary of the Communist Youth League Li Keqiang
- 1995 Residential surveillance in suburban Beijing Liu Xiaobo
- 1995 Fourth World Conference on Women Benazir Bhutto
- 1995 Address at the Fourth World Conference on Women Mother Teresa
- 1999 Pays official visit to Beijing Nelson Mandela
- 1999 First presidential tour of China Hugo Chávez
- 2006 Japan-China summit Shinzo Abe
- 2008 Vice premier appointment Li Keqiang
- 2008 Taken from Beijing apartment into secret detention Liu Xiaobo
- 2009 Held at Beijing No. 1 Detention Center Liu Xiaobo
- 2009 Trial at Beijing No. 1 Intermediate Court Liu Xiaobo
- 2013 Appointment as premier Li Keqiang
- 2014 APEC summit and Xi Jinping meeting Shinzo Abe
- 2016 Appearance in Wangfujing Chester Bennington