Mao Zedong

Mao Zedong (1893-1976), also romanized as Mao Tse-tung, was the founder of the People's Republic of China (PRC) and Chairman of the Communist Party in that country.

Chairman Mao, as he was commonly known, took power in 1949. Mao's split from the Soviet Union in the 1950s later led to diplomatic overtures from Richard Nixon and Henry Kissinger in the 1970s.