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Democratic Republic of the Congo

country in Central Africa

55 dated entries naming Democratic Republic of the Congo, drawn from 28 separate years between 1680 CE and 2025 CE. Nothing here is written by us: each line is the sentence a Wikipedia year article used, and the link beside it opens the exact revision.

Also written as Democratic Republic of Congo in the source articles; Wikipedia redirects those to the same subject, so their entries are on this page.

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17th century

  • 1680March 30 – A total eclipse of the Sun takes place and is visible over central Africa, with totality over the Opala Territory in the modern-day Democratic Republic of the Congo.source

19th century

  • 1876September 12 – King Leopold II of Belgium hosts the Brussels Geographic Conference, on the subject of colonizing and exploring central Africa. By the event's conclusion, a new international body named the International African Association (indirect forerunner of the modern Congo state) is established.source
  • 1881Kinshasa (the capital of the modern-day Democratic Republic of the Congo) is founded by Henry Morton Stanley as a trading outpost called Léopoldville.source

20th century

  • 1960June 24 – Joseph Kasa-Vubu is elected as the first President of the independent Democratic Republic of the Congo.source
  • 1960August 6 – In the Republic of the Congo (Léopoldville) (later the Democratic Republic of the Congo), Albert Kalonji declares the independence of the Autonomous State of South Kasai.source
  • 1960September 5 – Congolese President Joseph Kasa-Vubu dismisses Patrice Lumumba's entire government, and also places Lumumba under house arrest.source
  • 1960September 14 – Colonel Joseph Mobutu takes power in Republic of the Congo via a military coup.source
  • 1960November 14 – Belgium threatens to leave the United Nations over criticism of its policy concerning the Republic of the Congo.source
  • 1960November 22 – The United Nations supports the government of Joseph Kasavubu and Joseph Mobutu in the Republic of the Congo.source
  • 1960December 1 – Patrice Lumumba, deposed premier of the Republic of the Congo, is arrested by the troops of Colonel Joseph Mobutu.source
  • 1960December 7 – The United Nations Security Council is called into session by the Soviet Union, in order to consider Soviet demands for the Security Council to seek the immediate release of former Congolese Premier Patrice Lumumba.source
  • 1960December 14 – Antoine Gizenga proclaims in the Democratic Republic of the Congo that he has taken over as the country's premier.source
  • 1962March 15 – Katangan Prime Minister Moise Tshombe begins negotiations to rejoin the Congo.source
  • 1964June 26 – Moise Tshombe returns to the Democratic Republic of the Congo from exile in Spain.source
  • 1964August 5 – The Simba rebel army in the Democratic Republic of the Congo captures Stanleyville, and takes 1,000 Western hostages.source
  • 1965November 24 – Congolese lieutenant general Mobutu ousts Joseph Kasavubu and declares himself president.source
  • 1966July 23 – Katangese troops in Stanleyville, Congo, revolt for several weeks in support of the exiled minister Moise Tshombe.source
  • 1967March 13 – Moise Tshombe, ex-prime minister of Congo, is sentenced to death in absentia.source
  • 1967June 30 – Moise Tshombe, former president of Katanga and former prime minister of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, is kidnapped and taken to Algeria.source
  • 1967July 5 – Troops of Belgian mercenary commander Jean Schramme revolt against Mobutu Sese Seko, and try to take control of Stanleyville, Congo.source
  • 1967October 9 – Che Guevara, Argentine-born Marxist revolutionary involved in Cuban Revolution and Simba Rebellion in Republic of the Congo (Léopoldville) (now Democratic Republic of the Congo)source
  • 1967November 4–5 – In the Democratic Republic of the Congo, mercenaries of Jean Schramme and Jerry Puren withdraw from Bukavu, over the Shangugu Bridge, to Rwanda.source
  • 1968April 23 – President Mobutu releases captured mercenaries in the Congo.source
  • 1970December 23 – Law 70-001 is enacted in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, amending article 4 of the constitution and making the country a one-party state.source
  • 1977January 10 – Mount Nyiragongo erupts in eastern Zaire (now the Democratic Republic of the Congo).source
  • 1998August 29 - The rebels are reported to have evacuated the port city of Matadi, Democratic Republic of the Congo. Angolan troops are reported to have arrived supporting Kabila without fighting in the city.source
  • 1998September 3 - South Africa now says it supports the intervention of the Democratic Republic of the Congo by Namibia, Zimbabwe and Angola, supporting Kabila.source
  • 1998September 18 – The United Nations condemns Libya, Sudan and the Democratic Republic of the Congo for breaches against the UN's air embargo against Libya.source
  • 1999January 7 - Zimbabwe says its military intervention in the Democratic Republic of the Congo is being funded by France, Libya and Angola.source

21st century

  • 2002January 17 – Mount Nyiragongo erupts in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, displacing an estimated 400,000 people.source
  • 2003June 30 – Warring parties in the Democratic Republic of the Congo sign a peace accord, bringing an end to the Second Congo War.source
  • 2007Pope Benedict laments the violence in Darfur, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Zimbabwe, Somalia, Afghanistan, and the Middle East, stating, "nothing positive is happening in Iraq" in his Easter homily.source
  • 2008January 24 – A peace deal is signed in Goma, Democratic Republic of the Congo, ending the Kivu conflict.source
  • 2008October 9 - The Democratic Republic of the Congo accuses Rwanda of sending troops across the border, threatening the city of Goma.source
  • 2013March 24 – Central African Republic President François Bozizé flees to the Democratic Republic of the Congo, after rebel forces capture the nation's capital, Bangui.source
  • 2016March 21 – The International Criminal Court finds former Congolese Vice President Jean-Pierre Bemba guilty of war crimes and crimes against humanity, the first time the ICC convicted someone of sexual violence.source
  • 2016September 1 – An annular solar eclipse was visible from Gabon, the Republic of the Congo, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Tanzania, Mozambique and Madagascar.source
  • 2018August 1 – The 2018 Kivu Ebola outbreak begins in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. It becomes the second-deadliest outbreak of the Ebola virus on November 29, surpassed only by the 2013 West African Ebola virus epidemic.source
  • 2019November 7 – Former Congolese rebel leader Bosco Ntaganda is sentenced to 30 years in prison for war crimes and crimes against humanity, the longest sentence ever handed down by the International Criminal Court.source
  • 2019November 24 – 2019 Busy Bee crash: A plane crashes shortly after takeoff in a densely populated area of Goma, Democratic Republic of the Congo, killing all 19 people on board and at least 10 more on the ground.source
  • 2020April 10 – Kivu Ebola epidemic: The Democratic Republic of the Congo reports the first case of Ebola since February 2020. The outbreak has killed more than 2,200 people since August 2018.source
  • 2020June 1 – Kivu Ebola epidemic: The World Health Organization reports six new cases of Ebola, and UNICEF reports five deaths, in a renewed outbreak of the disease in Mbandaka, Équateur Province, Democratic Republic of the Congo.source
  • 202024 December – Thirty people die when a boat capsizes in Lake Albert en route from Uganda to Congo.source
  • 202112 January – A barge travelling from Kisangani to the town of Basoko in Tshopo, Democratic Republic of the Congo, sinks in the Congo River. Local authorities report that at least six people were killed and 19 others are missing.source
  • 202114 February – Militants of the Islamic State's Central Africa Province raid the town of Ndalya in the Ituri Province of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, killing 11 civilians and three members of the armed forces.source
  • 202126 February – An NGO vice-president met with 70 members of the Twa and Bantu in Nyunzu, Democratic Republic of the Congo, to ensure lasting peace in the Nyunzu Territory.source
  • 202126 February – Six gunmen open fire on a World Food Programme convoy in North Kivu, Democratic Republic of the Congo, killing Italian ambassador Luca Attanasio, a carabiniere and their driver.source
  • 2022March 27 – The M23 offensive begins in North Kivu, Democratic Republic of the Congo.source
  • 2023March 4 – Kivu conflict: Burundi deploys 100 troops to the Democratic Republic of the Congo to help fight insurgencies by militias, including M23.source
  • 2023March 8 – Allied Democratic Forces jihadist insurgents use machetes to kill about 35 people in the village of Mukondi, North Kivu, Democratic Republic of the Congo.source
  • 2023March 10 – Kivu conflict: Angola announces the deployment of troops to the Democratic Republic of the Congo, following the failure of a ceasefire between government forces and M23 rebels in North Kivu.source
  • 2023May 4 – A series of floods and landslides strikes villages in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo, resulting in over 400 deaths.source
  • 2024May 19 – A coup d'état attempt in the Democratic Republic of the Congo reportedly led by Christian Malanga leads to unrest in Kinshasa. Government soldiers quickly intervene, arresting the coup leaders and reportedly restoring calm.source
  • 2025April 15 – A motorized wooden boat capsizes after catching fire in the Congo River near the town of Mbandaka in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, killing at least 148 people.source
  • 2025June 27 – The U.S., with Qatari support, brokers a preliminary peace treaty between the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Rwanda, ending their armed conflict that started in 2022.source

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