Public
Liberation Day
National liberation celebration
Celebration date
May 17
Geographic reach
5 countries
Marks the end of the dictatorship of Gnassingb茅 Eyad茅ma.
Commemorates liberation from French influence
Celebrated in 5 countries
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What this holiday commemorates
- 1963 A coup d'茅tat in Togo results in the assassination of the country's first President, Sylvanus Olympio. 路 Togo
- 1994 Kigali, the Rwandan capital, was captured by the Rwandan Patriotic Front, ending the genocide in the city. 路 Rwanda
- 1997 Zaire is officially renamed the Democratic Republic of the Congo. 路 Democratic Republic of the Congo
- 1997 Laurent Kabila becomes the 3rd President of DRC. 路 Democratic Republic of the Congo
On this day in African history
- 1900 The siege of Mafeking, during the South African war between the Afrikaans and British soldiers, is lifted. 路 South Africa
- 1954 The United States Supreme Court outlaws racial segregation in public schools in Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, Kansas. 路 United States
- 1956 Abb茅 Fulbert Youlou founds the Union D茅mocratique de D茅fense des Int茅r锚ts Africains (UDDIA), promoting anti-communism, Christian values, and cooperati... 路 Republic of the Congo
- 1959 Fidel Castro signs the First Agrarian Reform Law in Cuba, redistributing land to over 100,000 peasants. 路 Cuba
- 1980 Rioting erupts in downtown Miami following the acquittal of four white police officers in the killing of Arthur McDuffie, a Black insurance salesman. 路 United States
- 1994 Malawi holds its first multi-party elections. 路 Malawi