Zhou Youguang

Zhou Youguang (Chou Yu-kuang; ; born Zhou Yaoping ; 13 January 1906 – 14 January 2017) was a Chinese linguist and writer. He was sometimes called the "father of Hanyu Pinyin". Hanyu Pinyin is the official romanization of Chinese in the People's Republic of China. He also wrote many books banned by the government of China.
Zhou was born in Changzhou, Jiangsu. In 1933, he married Zhang Yunhe. She died on 14 August 2002. They had two children together Zhou Xiaoping (1934–2015) and Zhou Xiaohe (1935–1941). He turned 100 in 2006. He became a supercentenarian (turning 110) in 2016.
Zhou died on 14 January 2017 at his home in Beijing, a day after his 111th birthday.