Lin Zexu
Destroyed the British opium stocks at Humen near Guangzhou in 1839, an act that led to the First Opium War.
| Lived | 1785 – 1850 |
| Known as | Qing official |
| Birthplace or main place | Fuzhou |
| Places on the map | Guangzhou |
FuzhouSee the world of Lin Zexu in the interactive map
Who ruled these places in his lifetime
| Place | At birth (map of 1783) | At death (map of 1815) |
|---|---|---|
| Fuzhou | Qing Empire | Manchu Empire |
| Guangzhou | Qing Empire | Manchu Empire |
From the border maps nearest to each date; borders are approximate.
Events in his lifetime
| Year | Event | Where |
|---|---|---|
| 1839 | Lin Zexu destroys the opium stocks at Humen | Guangzhou |
Further reading
Contemporaries
| Lived | Person | |
|---|---|---|
| 1778 – 1850 | José de San Martín | Leader of South American independence |
| 1769 – 1849 | Muhammad Ali Pasha | Ruler of Egypt |
| 1780 – 1839 | Ranjit Singh | Maharaja of the Sikh Empire |
| 1802 – 1885 | Victor Hugo | Writer |
| 1749 – 1832 | Johann Wolfgang von Goethe | Writer |
| 1783 – 1830 | Simón Bolívar | Liberator of South America |
| 1806 – 1872 | Benito Juárez | President of Mexico |
| 1807 – 1882 | Giuseppe Garibaldi | Leader of Italian unification |
| 1770 – 1827 | Ludwig van Beethoven | Composer |
| 1743 – 1826 | Thomas Jefferson | Third president of the United States |
Last updated 9 November 2026. Sources: border data from historical-basemaps, land and rivers from Natural Earth; texts written for Chronica Maps from standard reference works. How we make the maps.