Democratic Republic of the Congo in History
Historical Events
- 1484-07-06 Portuguese sea captain Diogo Cão finds the mouth of the Congo River
- 1651-02-13 Flemish missionary Joris van Geel departs to Congo
Event of Interest
1732-08-13 Voltaire's "Zaire" premieres in Paris
Voltaire
- 1876-09-12 King Leopold II opens Congo-conference
- 1876-09-14 Leopold II closes Congo-conference
Event of Interest
1877-08-09 Henry Morton Stanley's party reaches Boma, Congo, after 999 days, losing half of the 228 members.
Henry Morton Stanley
- 1879-02-10 Henry Morton Stanley departs for the Congo
- 1880-09-10 Pierre de Brazza signs treaty with King Makoko of Congo
- 1880-11-21 Henry Stanley & Pierre de Brazza quarrel about possession of Congo
- 1881-05-08 Henry Morton Stanley signs the first of many contracts with the Congolian monarch
- 1881-10-12 Henry M Stanley signs contract with Congo monarch
- 1882-12-14 Henry Morton Stanley returns to Brussels from the Congo
- 1884-02-26 British & Portuguese treaty signed in Congo by Leopold II
- 1884-04-10 US Senate accepts Belgian administration of Congo
- 1884-04-22 US recognizes King Leopold II's Congo Free State
- 1884-11-08 German government recognizes King Leopold II's Congo Free State
- 1884-12-16 Great Britain recognizes King Leopold II's Congo Free State
- 1884-12-19 Italy recognizes King Leopold II's Congo Free State
- 1884-12-24 Austria-Hungary admits King Leopold II's Congo Free State
- 1884-12-27 Netherlands recognizes King Leopold II's Congo Free State
- 1885-02-05 King Leopold II of Belgium establishes the Congo as a personal colonial possession
- 1885-02-26 Berlin Conference gives Congo to Belgium and Nigeria to Great Britain
- 1885-05-02 Congo Free State formed by King Leopold II of Belgium
- 1887-06-15 Stanley's expedition reaches Yambuya waterfalls Congo
- 1887-12-05 Stanley's expedition reaches plateau at Lake Albert Congo
- 1888-04-29 Old Kavallison, Congo: Henry Morton Stanley meets Emin Pasha
- 1890-07-03 King Leopold II gives Congo, previously a private possession, to Belgium
- 1890-10-03 Capt Guillaume of Kerckhoven marches into Boma Congo
- 1892-11-23 Battle of Lomani Congo: Belgian unit beats Arabs, 1000-3000 killed
- 1903-05-20 Britain's House of Commons begins a debate on the charges of poor administration and ill treatment of natives in Belgium's colony in the Congo Free State
- 1903-06-29 British government protests against abuses in Belgian Congo
- 1903-09-19 King Leopold II denies Belgian cruelty in Congo
- 1903-12-12 Roger Casement completes report about abuses in Belgian Congo
- 1906-06-03 Belgian King Leopold II claims Congo as his private possession
- 1906-10-28 Belgian-British "Union Minière du Haut Katanga" mining company created in what is now the Democratic Republic of Congo
- 1906-12-09 NY American reports Belgian King Leopold II bribed US Senate commission on the Congo
Event of Interest
1906-12-11 US President Theodore Roosevelt attacks abuses in the Congo
Theodore Roosevelt
- 1908-01-23 US & Great Britain demand end of abuses in Congo
- 1908-08-20 Congo Free State becomes Belgian Congo
- 1908-10-18 Belgium annexes Congo Free State
- 1908-10-20 King Leopold II sells Congo to Belgium
- 1911-11-04 France & Germany sign treaty about Morocco & Congo
- 1925-02-12 E Thieffry departs with Handley Page for the Belgian Congo
- 1931-07-01 Trans African Railway in use (Benguela, Angola-Jadotville, Congo)
- 1948-10-03 Columbia University reports discovery of uranium in Belgian Congo
- 1955-05-16 King Baudouin of Belgium visits Congo
- 1958-11-28 Congo & Mauritania become autonomous members of French Community
- 1959-01-13 King Boudouin promises Belgian Congo independence
- 1959-11-01 Patrice Lumumba arrested in Belgian Congo
- 1960-01-20 Patrice Lumumba sentenced to 6 months in Belgian Congo
- 1960-06-30 Zaire (formerly Belgian Congo) declares independence from Belgium
- 1960-07-10 Belgium sends troops to Congo
- 1960-07-11 Moise Tsjombe declares Congolese county Katanga independent
- 1960-07-12 Congo, Chad and Central African Republic declare independence
- 1960-07-15 UN troops arrive in Congo to help deal with the political crisis after Moïse-Kapenda Tshombé's declaration of independence for Katanga province
- 1960-07-18 1st UN troops reach Congo
- 1960-08-06 The UN Security Council lay down rules which would allow UN forces to enter Congo
- 1960-08-08 South Kasai secedes from the Congo.
- 1960-08-14 UN peace-keeping troops deployed to the Republic of Congo
- 1960-08-16 Republic of Congo (Zaire, Dem Rep of Congo) forms
- 1960-09-05 President Kasavubu fires premier Patrice Lumumba of Congo
- 1960-09-14 Coup under Col Joseph-Desire Mobutu in Congo
- 1960-11-14 Belgium threatens to leave UN due to criticism on its policy on Congo
- 1960-11-27 Patrice Lumumba flees Leopoldville Congo
- 1960-12-01 Patrice Lumumba caught in the Congo
Assassination
1961-01-17 Eisenhower allegedly orders assassination of Congo's Patrice Lumumba
Dwight D. Eisenhower
- 1961-02-09 Joseph Ileo appointed Premier of Congo
- 1961-04-25 Premier Moise Tsjombe of Katanga arrested in Congo
- 1961-06-22 Moise Tsjombe freed from prison in Congo
- 1961-08-02 Cyrille Adula becomes premier of Congo
- 1961-09-13 Battles between UN & Katanga troops in Congo
- 1961-11-11 Congolese soldiers murder 13 Italian UN pilots
- 1961-12-27 Belgium & Congo resume diplomatic relations
- 1962-12-31 Katanga becomes part of Democratic Republic of Congo
- 1964-06-26 Moise Tsjombe forms government in Congo
- 1964-06-30 Last UN troops leave Congo
- 1964-07-10 Moïse Tshombé, leader of the Confederation of Tribal Associations of Katanga, becomes Prime Minister of the Congo
- 1964-08-05 Congo rebellion: Christopher Gbenye/Pierre Mulele conquer Stanleyville
- 1964-10-27 Congo rebel leader Christopher Gbenye holds 60 Americans & 800 Belgians
- 1964-11-24 Rebellion ends in Zaire
Event of Interest
1965-11-24 Marshal Mobutu Sese Seko Kuku Ngbendu becomes President of Zaire
Mobutu Sese Seko
- 1965-11-25 Congo military coup under Gen Mobutu, President Kasavubu overthrown
- 1966-06-30 Leopoldville, Congo is renamed Kinshasa
- 1966-11-24 1st TV station in Congo, Kinshasa (Zaire)
- 1967-03-13 Congo sentences ex-premier Moise Tsjombe to death
- 1967-06-24 Zaire adopts constitution
- 1967-07-05 Congo uprising under Belgian mercenary Jean Schramme
- 1967-08-14 Belgian embassy in Kinshasa, Congo, plundered
- 1969-11-03 Congo president Mobutu visits Belgium
- 1970-01-03 Marxist government takes over in Congo
- 1970-02-15 Nationalists disrupt UN session on Congo
- 1971-10-27 Republic of Congo-Kinshasa becomes Republic of Zaire
Boxing Title Fight
1974-10-30 "Rumble in the Jungle": Muhammad Ali KOs George Foreman in the 8th round in Kinshasa, Zaire; regains world heavyweight boxing title with famous "rope-a-dope" tactic
Muhammad Ali
- 1977-01-17 Zaire president Mobutu visits Belgium
- 1978-02-15 Zaire revises its constitution
- 1979-02-08 Denis Sassou-Nguesso becomes the President of the Republic of the Congo for the first time
- 1979-07-08 The Democratic Republic of the Congo adoptsa new constitution
Event of Interest
1989-01-12 Ex-dictator of Uganda Idi Amin expelled from Zaire
Idi Amin
- 1992-01-22 Rebel forces occupy Zaire's national radio station in Kinshasa and broadcast a demand for the government's resignation.
Rwandan Genocide
1994-07-15 Hundreds of thousands of Hutus flee to Zaire in the Congo near the end of the Rwandan Genocide
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Famous Birthdays
- 1844-06-21 Ernest F Cambier, Belgian colonial pioneer (1st Congo railway) (d. 1909)
- 1858-01-22 Frederick Lugard, British captain/baron (Congo)
- 1875-08-21 Maurice Lippens, Belgian governor of Congo (1921-23), born in Ghent, Belgium (d. 1956)
- 1880-09-04 Leo Bittermieux, Flemish missionary (Congo) (d. 1946)
- 1889-08-24 Simon Kimbangu/Kibangu, Congolese religious leader and founder of Kimbanguism, born in Nkamba, Congo (d. 1951)
- 1898-07-09 Gerard Walschap, Flemish writer (Mary, Revolt in Congo), born in Londerzeel, Belgium (d. 1989)
- 1910-09-18 Hendrik Cornelis, Belgian colonial civil servant and Governor-General of the Belgian Congo, born in Oudenaarde, Belgium (d. 1999)
- 1919-11-10 Moise Tshombe, President of Katanga, then premier of the Congo (Zaire), born in Musumba (d. 1969)
- 1925-07-02 Patrice Lumumba, Congolese revolutionary, 1st prime minister of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, born in Onalua, Belgian Congo (d. 1961)
- 1928-07-20 Charles David Ganao, Djambala, French Equatorial Africa, Prime Minister of the Republic of the Congo (1996-1997), (d. 2012)
Mobutu Sese Seko
1930-10-14 Mobutu Sese Seko, Dictator and President of Zaire (1965-97), born in Lisala, Democratic Republic of the Congo (d. 1997)
Mobutu Sese Seko
- 1931-11-15 Pascal Lissouba, Congo politician
- 1937-11-13 Tabu Ley Rochereau [Pascal-Emmanuel Sinamoyi Tabu], African musician (Orchestre Afrisa International), born in Bagata, Bandundu, Belgian Congo (d. 2013)
- 1938-07-06 Franco Luambo, Congolese composer, guitarist and bandleader (Masumbuku), born in Sona Bata, Belgian Congo (d. 1989)
Michael Crichton
1942-10-23 Michael Crichton, novelist (Andromeda Strain, Congo, Looker), born in Chicago, Illinois (d. 2008)
Michael Crichton
- 1946-04-08 Stuart Pankin, comedian (Striptease, Congo, Earl-Dinosaurs), born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
- 1949-06-14 Papa Wemba, Congolese singer, born Kasai region, Belgian Congo (d. 2016)
- 1954-06-14 Will Patton, American actor (No Way Out, Ballzaire the Cajun), born in Charleston, South Carolina
- 1955-12-30 Dindo Yogo, Congolese musician (d. 2000)
- 1956-12-30 Chéri Samba (Mbimba N'zinga), Congolese contemporary artist, born in Kinto M’Vuila, Democratic Republic of Congo
- 1960-12-29 Thomas Lubanga, Congolese war criminal, born in Ituri Province, Democratic Republic of the Congo
- 1967-02-02 Laurent Nkunda, Congolese general
- 1971-06-04 Joseph Kabila, Congolese politician
- 1977-07-20 Kiki Musampa, Congolese footballer
- 1980-12-28 Lomana LuaLua, Congolese football player, born in Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo
- 1988-04-06 Fabrice Muamba, Anglo-Congolese footballer
Famous Weddings
Wedding of Interest
1980-05-01 Zaire President Mobutu Sese Seko (49) weds Bobi Ladawa
Mobutu Sese Seko
Famous Deaths
- 1877-06-03 Frank Pocock, British explorer, drowned in the Congo while travelling with Stanley
- 1888-08-17 James Jameson, British nature investigator (Congo), dies
- 1891-12-17 Msiri, ruler of the Garanganze Kingdom, Congo (Katanga), dies in battle against Belgian funded expedition
- 1891-12-17 Omer Bodson, Belgian captain, dies in battle against Msiri, ruler of Garanganze Kingdom in the Congo
- 1892-12-01 Joseph Lippens, Belgian lieutenant in Congo, murdered
- 1905-09-04 Pierre de Braza, founder (French Congo), dies
- 1905-09-14 Pietro/Pierre Savorgnan de Brazza, 1st French Congo gov (1890-98), die
- 1909-07-23 Ernest F Cambier, Belgian colonial pioneer (1st Congo railway), dies at 65
- 1915-02-10 Albert J-BJ Thijs, Belgian Colonial pioneer (Congo), dies at 65
- 1916-03-20 Ota Benga, Congolese pygmy (b. 1884)
- 1946-09-21 Leo Bittermieux, Flemish missionary (Congo), dies at 66
- 1951-10-12 Simon Kimbangu/Kibangu, Congolese religious leader and founder of Kimbanguism, dies in captivity at 62
- 1954-07-26 Hans Lodeizen, [Johan Frederik], poet (Travel to Congo), dies at 26
- 1956-07-12 Maurice Lippens, Belgian governor of Congo (1921-23), dies at 80
- 1961-02-11 Patrice Lumumba, Congolese revolutionary, 1st prime minister of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, assassinated by the Belgian government at 34
- 1961-09-18 Dag Hammarskjöld, Swedish public servant, 2nd Secretary-General of the United Nations (1953-61) and posthumous Nobel Peace Prize winner (1961), dies in an air crash over Congo at 56
- 1968-10-09 Pierre Mulele, Congolese rebel leader, executed
- 1969-03-24 Joseph Kasavubu, president Congo (1960-65), dies at about 55
- 1969-06-29 Moise K Tsjombe, premier Congo/Zaire, dies
- 1989-10-12 Franco, [Francis Luambo/"Makiadi"], Zaire composer/music, dies at 51
- 1993-01-05 Nyamuisi Muvingi, Zaire minister of Culture, murdered
Mobutu Sese Seko
1997-09-07 Mobutu Sese Seko, President of Zaire (1965-97), dies at 66
Mobutu Sese Seko
- 2001-01-16 Laurent-Désiré Kabila, President of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (b. 1939)
- 2009-07-04 Jean-Baptiste Tati Loutard, Congolese politician (b.1938)
- 2012-07-06 Charles David Ganao, Prime Minister of the Republic of the Congo, dies at 85
- 2016-04-24 Papa Wemba, Congolese singer, dies at 66