COHEN, MORRIS ABRAHAM

COHEN, MORRIS ABRAHAM (1887–1970), military adviser. Cohen was born in London and sent by his father to Canada at the age of 16. There he made a living as a ranch-hand, peddler, gambler, and real estate speculator, ultimately drifting to Edmonton, Alberta, where he became a ward boss in the Chinese quarter of the city. He lobbied successfully in 1913 in the provincial legislature for the repeal of the head tax clause in the Chinese Immigration Act, an action that earned him the gratitude of the local Chinese population.

In 1908 Cohen had become friendly with Sun Yat-sen, the Chinese nationalist leader then in exile. Cohen joined Sun Yat-sen in China as an aide in 1922, and later was also adviser to his successor, Chiang Kai-shek. Cohen helped organize the Kuomintang Army, which awarded him the rank of general, and from 1926 to 1928 functioned in all but name as the Nationalist war minister. He took part in military campaigns against both Communist rebels and the Japanese, and carried out several secret missions to Europe to purchase arms and organize support for the Nationalist forces. He was probably known as Two-Gun Cohen. In 1941 he was taken prisoner by the Japanese after their capture of Hong Kong and two years later he was repatriated to Canada. After 1949 Cohen visited China several times in an attempt to reconcile the split Chinese factions. He subsequently settled in Manchester, England.

bibliography:

C. Drage, The Life and Times of General Two-Gun Cohen (1954).