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Birth
Ho Chi Minh was born Nguyen Sinh Cung on May 19, 1890, in Nghe An province in central Vietnam. Nghe An had been the center of resistance to the thousand-year Chinese control of Vietnam from 111 B.C.E. to 939 C.E. and the Ming Dynasty in the fifteenth century. Many leaders of the opposition to French control in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries also came from the province. This information is significant due to it’s foreshadowing to what Ho would become. A rebel. Brocheux (11) -
Name Change
According to the Confucian tradition, his father gave him a new name, Nguyen Tat Thanh (accomplished), when he was ten years old. The Confucian tradition entered Vietnam during the later stages of the reign of China over Vietnam. Confucianism was reinforced in government by the Confucian examination system in Vietnam, as well as the way family raised and taught children toward filial piety, through absolute obedience.
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Galveston Hurricane
Galveston hurricane leaves an estimated 6,000 to 8,000 dead. According to reports the nation's population numbers nearly 76 million. It turned out to be the deadliest natural disaster in U.S history, one of the deadliest hurricanes to affect Canada, and the fourth-deadliest Atlantic hurricane overall. Infoplease.com -
Thousand Day war
The War of a Thousand Days AKA Colombian civil war between Liberals and Conservatives that resulted in between 60,000 and 130,000 deaths, extensive property damage, and national economic ruin.
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Beginning of World War 1
The spark that ignited World War I was in Sarajevo, Bosnia, where Archduke Franz Ferdinand heir to the Austro-Hungarian Empire, was shot to death along with his wife Sophie by the Serbian nationalist Gavrilo Princip on June 28, 1914. History.com -
Russian Revolution
The Russian Revolution took place in 1917, during the final phase of World War I. It brought about the transformation of the Russian Empire into the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, replacing Russia's traditional monarchy with the world's first Communist state.
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Vietnam Communist Party
The Vietnamese Communist Party was founded on 3 February 1930 by uniting the Communist Party of Indochina and Communist Party of Annam. Thereafter, the Communist League of Indochina joined the Vietnamese Communist Party. In 1940 Ho Chi Minh met with multiple members of the party. Some years later he held his first meeting. Thus beginning his journey to power. Brittannica.com -
Beginning of WW2
In 1939 Germany and Russia signed the the German-Soviet Nonaggression Pact. This is what many believed was the spark of tension to move all of Europe to war. Soon after exactly on September 1st 1939. This was the official start of WW2.
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Viet Minh
The Viet Minh was formed in China in May 1941 by Ho Chi Minh. Although led primarily by communists, the Viet Minh operated as a national front organization open to persons of various political persuasions. In late 1943, members of the Viet Minh, led by General Vo Nguyen Giap, began it's fight the Japanese occuppated territories. Viet Minh units seized control of Hanoi and proclaimed the independent Democratic Republic of Vietnam.
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First Public Speech
On September 2, 1945, he stood before a crowd at Ba Dinh square in Hanoi. With an OSS officer standing nearby, Ho Chi-Minh began his speech with, “All men are created equal. They are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, among these are Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness.” This speech moved the spectators present. His views were progressive and welcoming to the poor country. Making it easy for him to start reeling in supporters. CFR.org -
Surrender of Japan (end of WW2)
A B-29 dropped an A-bomb on Nagasaki, killing an estimated 40,000 people. Japan’s Emperor Hirohito announced his country’s unconditional surrender in World War II. Thus putting an end to the Second World War and the last standing Axis Power.
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French Agreement
Ho Chi Minh signed an agreement with the French that Vietnam be recognized as an Independent state. Under a condition that it become of a member the French Union and permit a small French military presence. This agreement proved tenuous as tensions rose between French colonists and Vietnamese nationalists, eventually leading to all out war between the French and Vietnamese.
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Renaming of Workers’ Part of Vietnam
Under the rule of Ho Chi MInh, the congress adopted a decision to rename the CPI the Workers’ Party of Vietnam. The party program stated that the basic tasks of the Vietnamese revolution were to drive out the imperialist aggressors and achieve independence and unity for the country, to destroy the colonial regime and remove all remnants of feudalism, to develop a democratic system of government, and to lay the foundations for socialism. Brocheux (101) -
U.S Aid
1954 The U.S. began giving military aid to the Diem regime. Driven into hiding by Diem’s repressive policies, communists living in South Vietnam organized into underground 3 groups and began to wage guerrilla war against the Diem regime. These insurgents came to be known as the Viet Cong. Their leader and inspiration being Ho Chi Minh.
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Land Reform
Ho initiated a land reform campaign in 1953. The redistributed land was allocated to poor and landless peasants, but the Viet Minh retained control of the ownership of the land. Scholar Jeffrey Race, who did a study of the people in one Mekong Delta province stated how the reform had an incredibly quick and profound impact. This allowed peasants to obtain loyalty for Ho. This leading to them soon driving out foreign for a within villages. History.com -
Death
Beginning in the mid-1960s, Ho Chi Minh's health declined, and he made only occasional public appearances. He never married, but he was widely viewed in North Vietnam as the father of his country. He died of a heart attack on September 3, 1969, almost six years before the U.S.-backed South Vietnamese government was defeated and Vietnam was unified.
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