Ho Chi Minh

            In 1890 in a rural Vietnamese town, a boy was born with the name Nguyen Tat Thanh. He attended a local school taught by his fathers' friend, Vuong Thuc Qui. Vuong Thuc Qui believed in teaching his students the core of Confucian classical writings while simultaneously instilling in their minds a fierce patriotic spirit for the survival of an independent Vietnam. Nguyen Tat Thanh learned a great deal and was penning patriotic essays at Qui's direction and was helping to serve quests that came to lecture on various subjects. Soon thereafter Qui closed the school forcing Thanh to return to schooling by his father. Thanh's education was not limited to the classroom; he also learned how to become a blacksmith and a bird hunter. Is Father's workshop became a gathering spot for stories of invasion and protection of their homeland. By this point in time Nguyen Tat Thanh was starting to feel an intense patriotism. He often attended funeral services with his parents for martyrs killed during the war of resistance with the French. .
             In 1911 Thanh began employment as a cook on a French steamship named La Touché Treville, and later worked in London and Paris. Following World War I Nguyen Tat Thanh began using the pseudonym Nguyen Ai Quoc, meaning Nguyen the Patriot. Phan Chu Trinh, a famous patriot, chose this nickname second well known after Ho Chi Minh. Thanh dropped the name Nguyen Ai Quoc after betraying Phan Boi Chau's whereabouts to the French authorities for $10,000. Phan Boi Chau was the most well known Vietnamese activist at the early half of 1900's who peacefully struggled for independence of Vietnam from French rule. As Nguyen the Patriot he was a founding member of the French Communist party and often engaged in radical activities. He attended training sessions in Moscow and was sent to China in 1924. It was here that he participated in the organization of a revolutionary movement among Vietnamese exiles.