Li Linsi

Li Linsi ; birth name Li Jiaxiang (厉家祥), was a modern Chinese educator, diplomat and scholar, who has been recognized as one of the key figures in modern Chinese cultural and diplomatic history. Hailed as China's Mahatma Gandhi, Li was the leader of China's nonviolent resistance against Japanese aggression. His military research contributed greatly to China's anti-Japanese war. He was known for his efforts to save hundreds of Jews fleeing to Shanghai during World War II. A diplomatic consultant to Chiang Kai-shek, Li was a key facilitator of the China-Germany relationship during the 1930s, and a major proponent of China's League of Nations diplomacy. He was a co-founder of some of China's most influential organizations, including the China branch of the United Nations and China Institute of World Cultural Cooperation at the League of Nations. Being reputed as a human bridge connecting Chinese and European cultures, Li made a great contribution to helping the West comprehend ancient Chinese philosophies, and introduced many Western progressive thoughts to China. A descendant of Jiang Ziya, the Chinese legendary founding prime minister during the Zhou dynasty, Li was the fourth great-grandson of Li E, a leader of the Qing dynasty poetry. His eldest son is Li Shengjiao, a noted Chinese diplomat and jurist. Li died in Shanghai during the Cultural Revolution.

18 February 1896

Born on the same birth day (18 February): Anders Zorn • André Mathieu • Didi Gregorius • February 18 • Henry Vane the Elder • Ibn Hajar al-Asqalani • Jean M. Auel • Johann Christian Kittel • John Hughes (filmmaker) • Johnny Hart • Konstanty Schmidt-Ciążyński • Lewis Armistead • Martin Marinčin • Pee Wee King • Phillip DeFreitas

Born in the same month (February 1896): Alberto Vargas • Andrei Zhdanov • André Breton • Friedrich Glauser • Friedrich Hund • Kazimierz Kuratowski • List of French supercentenarians • Philip Showalter Hench • Prime Minister of India • Richard Thorpe • Suryakant Tripathi • William A. Wellman