# Timeline of Lubumbashi

The following is a timeline of the history of the city of Lubumbashi, Democratic Republic of the Congo.

## 20th century

Part of a series on the :
History of the Democratic Republic of the Congo :
| Early history | pre–1876 |
| Kingdom of Kongo | 1390–1914 |
| Kingdom of Luba | 1585–1889 |
| Kingdom of Lunda | 1600–1887 |
| Kuba Kingdom | 1625–1884 |
| Kingdom of Chokwe | 1800–1891 |
| Yeke Kingdom | 1856–1891 |
| Colonization | 1876–1960 |
| Intl. African Association | 1876–1879 |
| Intl. Congo Society | 1879–1885 |
| Congo Free State (Atrocities) | 1885–1908 |
| Belgian Congo | 1908–1960 |
| World War II | 1940–1945 |
| Independence | post–1960 |
| Congo Crisis | 1960–1965 |
| Congo–Léopoldville | 1960–1971 |
| Zaire (Shaba I / II) | 1971–1997 |
| First Congo War | 1996–1997 |
| Second Congo War | 1998–2003 |
| Joseph Kabila presidency | 2001–2019 |
| Félix Tshisekedi presidency | 2019–present |
See also: Years :
DRC Portal :
vte :

### 1900s-1950s

* 1909
** 1 September: Elisabethville site designated seat of Katanga province; named after Elisabeth of Bavaria, Queen of Belgium.
** 27 September: Sakania-Elisabethville railway [fr] begins operating.
* 1910
** Union Minière du Haut Katanga (mining entity) active.
** Hôpital Gécamines Sud [fr] (hospital) and Catholic Apostolic Prefecture of Katanga established.
** Population: 360.
** Émile Wangermée becomes vice governor-general of Katanga.
* 1910s - "Governor's Residence and Imara and Twendelee schools" built.
* 1911
** Journal du Katanga newspaper begins publication.
** Population: 1,000.
** Etoile mining begins near Elisabethville.
** Catholic schools Institut Marie-José and Collège Saint-François de Sales established.
* 1912
** Racially segregated "native city" established per ordinance.
** Elisabethville becomes seat of Upper Luapula district.
* 1918 - Bukama-Elisabethville railway [fr] begins operating.
* 1919
** Population: 8,000 (approximate).
** Ruashi mining begins in vicinity of Elisabethville.
* 1920
** "Management of the Union Minière was transferred from the British to the Belgians."
** Catholic Sts. Peter and Paul Cathedral built.
* 1920s - "Makutano Club, Jerusalem United Methodist Church, and the Jewish synagogue" built.
* 1921 - Development of Albert I township begins.
* 1928
** Port-Francqui-Elisabethville railway [fr] begins operating.
** L'Essor du Congo newspaper begins publication.
* 1930s- "Courthouse and Mazembe stadium" built.
* 1931 - L'Écho du Katanga newspaper begins publication.
* 1932 - Wallace Memorial Church built.
* 1937 - Musée d'Élisabethville [fr] (museum) founded.
* 1939 - Football clubs FC Saint-Éloi Lupopo and FC Saint-Georges formed.
* 1941
** Elisabethville attains city status.
** Development of Kenya township begins.
* 1944 - Premiere of Joseph Kiwele's Cantate à la gloire de la Belgique.
* 1945 - Union Africaine des Arts et Lettres founded.
* 1946 - Académie d'Art Populaire d'Elisabethville founded.
* 1949 - Athénée royal built.
* 1950 - Development of Katuba township begins.
* 1950s - "Post office,...CSK headquarters, the theater, St. Mary's Basilica, and the railway headquarters" built.
* 1951 - Académie des Beaux-Arts d'Elisabethville founded.
* 1954
** Development of Ruashi township begins.
** City seal in use.
* 1956 - Université officielle du Congo et du Rwanda-Urundi opens.
* 1957
** City "divided into 5 communes, one for Europeans and 4 for Africans."
** December: Local election [fr] held.
* 1959
** Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Elisabethville established.
** Population: 183,711 (estimate).

### 1960s-1990s

* 1960
** June: City becomes part of independent Republic of the Congo.
** July: City becomes capital of breakaway State of Katanga during the Congo Crisis.
** Boniface Mwepu Katentakanya [fr] becomes bourgmestre (mayor).
* 1960s - "Gecamines tower and the 2 hospitals" built.
* 1961 - 15 September: Airport bombed by Katangese Air Force.
* 1963 - Mjumbe [ln] newspaper begins publication.
* 1964 - Stade Albert (stadium) opens.
* 1966 - City becomes capital of Katanga Province.
* 1967
** La Générale des Carrières et des Mines (mining entity) headquartered in city.
** Centre Culturel Français [fr] opens.
* 1970
** Elisabethville renamed "Lubumbashi."
** Musée national de Lubumbashi [fr] (museum) active.
* 1970s - "Hotel Karavia and Mobutu Stadium" built.
* 1971 - City becomes part of Shaba Province in the Republic of Zaire.
* 1972
** Kampemba commune created.
** University's Centre d'études des littératures romanes d'inspiration africaine active.
* 1974 - Société nationale des Chemins de fer du Congo (national railway) headquartered in Lubumbashi.
* 1975 - Population: 480,875 (estimate).
* 1977 - Annexe (commune) [fr] created.
* 1981 - University of Lubumbashi active.
* 1984 - Population: 543,268.
* 1990 - May: Student demonstration at University of Lubumbashi; crackdown.
* 1994 - Population: 851,381 (estimate).
* 1997
** April: Alliance of Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Congo take city during the First Congo War.
** Floribert Kaseba Makunko becomes mayor.
** May: City becomes part of Democratic Republic of the Congo.

## 21st century

* 2007 - Moïse Katumbi becomes governor of Katanga Province.
* 2008 - Marie-Grégoire Tambila [fr] becomes mayor.
* 2010
** Jean Oscar Sanguza Mutunda [fr] becomes mayor.
** Congo Express airline (Kinshasa-Lubumbashi) begins operating.
** Centennial of founding of city.
* 2011
** February: Airport attacked by secessionist Tigers.
** June: Unrest.
** 7 September: Prison break; escapees include warlord Gédéon Kyungu.
** Stade TP Mazembe (stadium) opens in Kamalondo.
* 2013 - March: Secessionist Mai-Mai Kata Katanga unrest.
* 2014 - January: Mai-Mai Kata Katanga unrest.
* 2015
** City becomes capital of the newly formed Haut-Katanga Province.
** Population: 2,015,502 (estimate).
* 2016 - December: Political protest.