June 21
1928 Manchurian warlord Zhang Zuolin died. He was fatally injured when Japanese troops blew up his train on June 4. Following its defeat of Russia in the Russo-Japanese War of 1904-1905 (fought in Manchuria), Japan carved out a sphere of influence in northeastern China. Zhang Zuolin became the dominant Chinese ruler in the region in 1913 and from 1924 also controlled Beijing and the area around the Chinese capital. His killers were concerned about Zhang's ambitions and hoped to trigger a formal Japanese seizure of Manchuria. Click here to see a photo of Zhang.
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