Patrice Lumumba

Born 1925

In a single year, 17 African nations become independent—including Nigeria, Senegal, Cameroon, and the Democratic Republic of Congo. "The wind of change is bl…

• 1960 CE

  Year of Africa: 17 nations gain independence

  In a single year, 17 African nations become independent—including Nigeria, Senegal, Cameroon, and the Democratic Republic of Congo. "The wind of change is blowing through this continent," British PM Harold Macmillan acknowledges.

• 1961 CE

  Patrice Lumumba assassinated in Congo

  Congo's first elected prime minister is executed with Belgian and CIA involvement, just months after independence. The assassination—and subsequent decades of Mobutu's brutal U.S.-backed dictatorship—embodies how Cold War powers undermined African self-determination.