Background
Mr. K. C. Li was born at Changsha, Hunan in September 1892.
Mr. K. C. Li was born at Changsha, Hunan in September 1892.
After receiving his earlier education in local schools, Mr. Li entered the Hunan Technical Institute, taking up the study of mining. Finishing the course of this institution he entered the Royal School of Mines, London graduating from that college with the degree of Mining-Engineer.
Upon his return to China Mr. Li became actively associated with the mining industry in Hunan, occupying the positions of secretary of the Hunan Mining Board, president of the Kiangwah Government Tin Mines, president of the Hsiao Ku San Government Mines and co-director of the Hunan Mining Board. During this time, he was sent as a mining commissioner of the government to Europe.
With the formation of the Wah Chang Mining and Smelting Company, Ltd., as an institution for international trade, Mr. Li was appointed vice-president and New York manager of the corporation. The later development of the Wah Chang Trading Corporation, the largest Chinese owned and directed import and export firm in the nation, brought the appointment of Mr. Li as president and manager director. Mr. Li was a resident of New York since his appointment, making frequent trips to China and to other nations of the world in connection with the business of his firms. He was the representative in New York of the Chinese Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Agriculture and Commerce. As a director and vice-president of the China Society of America, he became one of the best known Chinese business men in the United States, both commercially and socially.
For meritorius service rendered to the Republic of China, Mr. Li received the fourth class Chiaho decoration from the president in May 1920. He was also well known in the nation as a mathematician and wrote books of trigonometry, algebra and calculus in Chinese which were used in native schools as text books. He received four honors during his college career and was widely known as a student of Chinese literatures During the European war, Mr. Li was active for both the American and Canadian governments in obtaining war materials from China and South America. He received letters of appreciation and congratulation from the authorities of the various Allied governments. Mr. Li is a member of the Lawyer’s Club, and the Old Colonial Club of New York and also of the committee of the New York Metal Exchange, the New York Credit Association and the American Institute of Mining Engineers. He was married and had two children.
