April 26, 1917: Born in Guangzhou, China, to Tsuyee Pei and Lien Kwun. They name their son Ieoh Ming, meaning “to inscribe brightly.”
1929: Pei’s beloved mother dies of cancer, and the family moves to Shanghai.
1934: Inspired by the Bing Crosby film College Humor, Pei decides to study in the U.S. He transfers to MIT for its structural engineering program.
1942: Marries Eileen Loo, a Chinese student recently graduated from Wellesley College. The couple is together for nearly 72 years.
1944: First son T’ing Chung is born. The Peis will have three more children: son Chien Chung in 1946, son Li Chung in 1949, and daughter Liane in 1960.
1948: After graduating from Harvard’s design school, Pei is hired by real estate planner William Zeckendorf Sr. as Webb & Knapp’s architecture director.
1954: Pei becomes a naturalized citizen of the United States.
1955: Pei and some 70 designers leave Webb & Knapp to form I. M. Pei & Associates, a firm led by Pei, Henry Cobb, and Eason Leonard.
1956: Pei designs his first skyscraper, the Mile High Center, in downtown Denver.
1967: Pei designs the laboratories for the National Center for Atmospheric Research in Colorado, inspired by nearby Indian pueblos.
1976: Boston’s John Hancock Tower suffers technical problems when many of the facade’s glass plates fall out. Pei’s reputation suffers.
1978: Gains national attention with the trapezoid- shaped East Building of the National Gallery in D.C.
1979: The JFK presidential library opens in Boston. Jackie Kennedy chose Pei to design it; he calls it his “most important commission.”
1983: Wins the Pritzker prize. Uses the $100,000 award to establish a U.S. scholarship for Chinese design students.
1986: Becomes one of 12 naturalized American citizens to receive the Medal of Liberty from President Ronald Reagan.
1989: Work finishes on Pei’s most famous and controversial design, the bold pyramid at the entrance of the Louvre in Paris.
1995: The Rock & Roll Hall of Fame opens in Cleveland. Pei’s design is energetic and youthful.
2008: Designs the Museum of Islamic Art in Qatar, which distills centuries of Islamic design into a single building.
2010: Pei is awarded Britain’s Royal Gold Medal for architecture by Queen Elizabeth II.
