Eighty-seven years ago today, on May 17th, 1938 (April 18th, 1938 in the lunar calendar), Cao Kun died of illness. Cao Kun On May 17th, 1938, Cao Kun, the former president of Beiyang Government, died of illness in Tianjin. Cao Kun is from Tianjin, Zhili. When I was young, I made a living by selling cloth. In 1881, he joined the Huai Army as a soldier. In 1895, he joined Yuan Shikai's newly-built right-wing infantry battalion as a helper. In 1907, he was promoted to the third town commander. After the Revolution of 1911, he served as the commander of the Third Beiyang Division, the governor of Zhili, and the patrol envoy of Zhilu and Henan. In 1922, he defeated the Feng clan in the first Zhifeng War and took control of the Beijing government. In October, 1923, he bribed 590 members of Congress at a price of 5,000 silver dollars a vote and was elected as the president, which is known as "bribing the president" in the world. In October 1924, the Second Zhifeng War broke out, and Cao Kun was placed under house arrest when Feng Yuxiang launched a coup in Beijing. Released April 1926. Later he went to Henan to join Wu Peifu. After 1927, he lived in Tianjin Concession. After the September 18th Incident, Japan repeatedly invited him to join enemy and puppet organizations, but all of them refused.