Dr. Sun Yat-sen, also known as Sun Chung-shan and Sun Wen, was born in 1866 in a coastal village of Hsiangshan County, Kwangtung Province. After receiving his early education in both Chinese and Western schools, he moved to Hawaii in 1879, where he attended Iolani and Oahu Colleges. In 1883, he returned to China to continue his studies, concentrating on the Chinese classics and history. He later moved to Hong Kong to attend Queen's College and in 1892 graduated from Hong Kong Medical College.

Seeing the weakness of the imperial Manchu court and the encroachment on China by foreign powers, Sun gave up his medical career to pursue political reform. In 1894, together with a group of overseas Chinese youths, Sun established his first revolutionary organization, the Hsing-chung Hui (Society for Regenerating China), in Honolulu, Hawaii. His political ideals are summarized in a set of doctrines called the Three Principles of the People--nationalism, democracy, and the people's well-being--which were designed to build an independent, democratic , and prosperous China.

Over the next 16 years, Sun and his followers launched ten futile attempts to topple the corrupt imperial Manchu court. Finally, on October 10, 1911, forces loyal to Sun took over Wuchang, the capital of Hupei Province. Thereafter, other provinces and important cities joined the revolutionary camp and declared independence from the Manchu government. On December 29, 1911, Sun was elected provisional president of the new republic by delegates from 16 of the 17 provinces gathered in Nanking. He was inaugurated on January 1, 1912, the founding day of the ROC.

To preserve national unity, Sun relinquished the presidency on April 1, 1912, to military strongman Yuan Shih-k'ai, who declared himself emperor in 1915. Sun and other leaders moved the revolutionary effort to Japan until Yuan Shih-k'ai's death in 1916. In 1917, the Provisional Assembly elected Sun to lead the Chinese Military Government based in Canton, and in 1921 Sun assumed office as president of the newly formed government in Canton. He devoted the rest of his life to uniting China's feuding factions.

Sun died of illness on March 12, 1925, at the age of 59 in Peking. In 1940, he was posthumously declared the Founding Father of the Republic of China for his life-long contributions to the revolution.