August 22, 1904. Exactly today, Deng Xiao Ping was born in a farming family in Guang’an, Sichuan in China.
Educated in France, Deng learned the fundamental ideals of Marxism while studying and eventually working in France in the 1920. He joined the Communist Party of China in 1923.
Though he rose to the ranks to become of the China’s acknowledged leaders side by side with Chinese esteemed Communist leader Mao Tse Tung, Deng was purged twice during Mao’s Cultural Revolution of the 1960s.
His economic ideas ran in conflict with Deng’s political plans that led to his purging during the turbulent 1960s in China.
Deng, however, came to power in 1978 and started a renewed economic reform for China. He opened the country to foreign investors, a move that helped China advance into one of the world’s fastest growing economies while vastly raising the standard of living.
Deng passed away on February 19, 1997 at the ripe old age of 92 after succumbing to lung infection and Parkinson’s disease. Yet, his influence wityhin China’s leadership circle continued.
Source: http://wikipedia.com