Kinshasa, the capital of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, lies on the south bank of the Congo River opposite Brazzaville, at Malebo Pool, where the river widens after a long navigable stretch. The explorer Henry Morton Stanley, working for King Leopold II of Belgium, founded a trading station there, and the settlement was named Leopoldville. It became the capital of the Belgian Congo, and after independence in 1960 it remained the capital. In the 1960s the president Mobutu renamed many places, and the city took the name Kinshasa, after a nearby village. Today it is one of the largest cities in Africa and the world's largest French-speaking urban area, known for its music, especially Congolese rumba and soukous, and also for its enormous infrastructure challenges.
Before and after
- 31 December 1880Birth of George Marshall
- 1881Launch of Los Angeles Times
- 1881Founding of Natural History Museum
- from 1881 to 1899Mahdist War
- 1881Founding of Kinshasa
- 1881Birth of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk
- 28 January 1881Death of Fyodor Dostoyevsky
- from 14 March 1881 to 1 January 1947Kingdom of Romania
- 25 March 1881Birth of Béla Bartók
More in Civilizations & archaeology
- 1831Discovery of Lewis chessmen
- from 8 February 1861 to 1 May 1865Confederate States of America
- from 17 March 1861 to 18 June 1946Kingdom of Italy
- from 3 January 1868 to 3 May 1947Empire of Japan
- from 23 October 1868 to 30 July 1912Meiji era
- October 1871Schliemann begins digging at Hisarlik
The era
This moment belongs to the Industrial era (1760 CE to 1914 CE), steam, factories and revolutions. You can also browse everything in the 19th century.