Zeng Guofan, Chinese general and politician, Viceroy of Liangjiang (b. 1811)
Zeng Guofan, Marquis Yiyong (traditional Chinese: 曾國藩; simplified Chinese: 曾国藩; pinyin: Zēng Guófān; Wade–Giles: Tseng1 Kuo2-fan1; 26 November 1811 – 12 March 1872), birth name Zeng Zicheng, courtesy name Bohan, was a Chinese statesman and military general of the late Qing dynasty. He is best known for raising and organizing the Xiang Army to aid the Qing military in suppressing the Taiping Rebellion and restoring the stability of the Qing Empire. Along with other prominent figures such as Zuo Zongtang and Li Hongzhang of his time, Zeng set the scene for the Tongzhi Restoration, an attempt to arrest the decline of the Qing dynasty. Zeng was known for his strategic perception, administrative skill and noble personality on Confucian practice, but also for his ruthlessness in repressing rebellions.

1872Mar, 12
Zeng Guofan
Choose Another Date
Events on 1872
- 5Mar
Railway air brake
George Westinghouse patents the air brake. - 22Mar
Gender equality
Illinois becomes the first state to require gender equality in employment. - 22May
Amnesty Act
Reconstruction Era: President Ulysses S. Grant signs the Amnesty Act into law, restoring full civil and political rights to all but about 500 Confederate sympathizers. - 18Nov
United States presidential election, 1872
Susan B. Anthony and 14 other women are arrested for illegal voting in the United States presidential election of 1872. - 9Dec
P. B. S. Pinchback
In Louisiana, P. B. S. Pinchback becomes the first African-American governor of a U.S. state.