Patrice Lumumba died on 17 January 1961 in Lubumbashi, aged 35. A Congolese politician, Lumumba was the first prime minister of the independent Democratic Republic of the Congo. A leader of the Congolese National Movement, he helped bring about independence from Belgium in June 1960. Within weeks the country fell into crisis, with an army mutiny, the secession of Katanga, and Belgian intervention. Lumumba sought help from the Soviet Union, which alarmed Western governments during the Cold War, and he was dismissed by President Kasa-Vubu and arrested by Mobutu's forces. He was killed in Katanga at the hands of Katangan authorities with the involvement of Belgian officers, and he became a symbol of African anti-colonialism.
Before and after
- 1961Establishment of Chapada dos Veadeiros National Park
- 1961Establishment of Emas National Park
- from 1961 to 1972Rise of Tupamaros
- 4 January 1961Death of Erwin Schrödinger
- 17 January 1961Death of Patrice Lumumba
- from 4 February 1961 to 25 April 1974Angolan War of Independence
- from 4 February 1961 to 25 April 1974Portuguese Colonial War
- from 11 February 1961 to 1 January 1963Rise of Secret Army Organization
- 12 February 1961Launch of Venera 1
More in Wars, politics & history
- from 12 March 1947 to 25 December 1991Cold War
- from 3 April 1948 to 1 December 1951Marshall Plan
- 10 December 1948Universal Declaration of Human Rights
- 26 July 1953Cuban Revolution
- from 14 October 1962 to 28 October 1962Cuban Missile Crisis
- 26 December 1991Dissolution of the Soviet Union
The era
This moment belongs to the Contemporary world (1945 CE to today), the world since 1945. You can also browse everything in the 20th century.