Deng Xiaoping was born on this day in 1904. He was the leader of the Communist Party in China from 1978-1992 and he played a huge part in China becoming the market econony that it has become today. Deng opened China to foreign investment,  the global market and limited private competition. Deng Xiaoping died in 2007 at the age of 92.

Deng Xiaoping was Time Magazine’s Man of the Year in 1985. What he did in China may have the historians of the future looking back and recognizing him as the Man of the 20th Century. So far it is hard to argue with the success Deng Xiaoping’s policies have had on China and on the world. He was the architect of the China of today.

Random Fact: Deng Xiaoping was 5 foot tall.