Mao Zedong (/ˈmaʊ (d)zəˈdʊŋ/; 26 December 1893 – 9 September 1976), also known as Chairman Mao, was a Chinese communist revolutionary who became the founder of the People's Republic of China (PRC), which he ruled as the Chairman of the Chinese Communist Party from its establishment in 1949 until his death on 9 September 1976, at the age of 82.