Photo: Harry Pot for Anefo), CC BY 4.0

Patrice Lumumba

1925 – 1961 · died at about 36^[1][2]

Politics & Leadership

Fun Facts About Patrice Lumumba

• Patrice Lumumba was born Isaïe Tasumbu Tawosa, and before politics he worked as a traveling beer salesman and as a postal clerk in Stanleyville for eleven years.^[1]
• Lumumba was not scheduled to speak at Congo's 1960 independence ceremony, but after King Baudouin praised colonial rule he gave an impromptu speech that Time called a "vicious attack".^[1]
• Lumumba wrote poetry, much of it anti-imperialist, and was fond of Molière and Victor Hugo.^{[1][3][4][5][6]}
• Guinea put Lumumba on a coin and two regular banknotes despite his having no ties to the country, an unprecedented honor for a foreigner on everyday money.^[1]
• In 1961 a Moscow university was renamed Patrice Lumumba Peoples' Friendship University in his honor.^[1]
• When Lumumba's remains were handed to his children in Brussels, they consisted of a single gold-capped tooth; Belgium's prime minister apologized, and the remains were laid to rest in 2022.^[1]
• Patrice Lumumba was alive at the same time as Roald Amundsen — their lives overlapped for 3 years (1925–1928).^[1][2][7][8]
• Patrice Lumumba and Margaret Thatcher were both born in 1925.^{[1][2][9][10]}

Patrice Émery Lumumba was a Congolese politician and independence leader who served as the first prime minister of the First Congolese Republic from June until September 1960, following the May 1960 election. Lumumba was the leader of the Congolese National Movement (MNC) from 1958 until his assassination in 1961. Ideologically an African nationalist and pan-Africanist, he played a significant role in the transformation of the Congo from a colony of Belgium into an independent republic.^[1]

Contemporaries

Winston Churchill

36 yr overlap

Carl Jung

36 yr overlap

Pablo Picasso

36 yr overlap

Igor Stravinsky

36 yr overlap

Coco Chanel

36 yr overlap

Niels Bohr

36 yr overlap

Erwin Schrödinger

36 yr overlap

Georgia O'Keeffe

36 yr overlap

Charlie Chaplin

36 yr overlap

Ho Chi Minh

36 yr overlap

Agatha Christie

36 yr overlap

Dwight D. Eisenhower

36 yr overlap

Their World

Questions About Patrice Lumumba

When was Patrice Lumumba born?

Patrice Lumumba was born on July 2, 1925, and died on January 17, 1961.

How old was Patrice Lumumba at death?

Patrice Lumumba was born on July 2, 1925, and died on January 17, 1961, at age 35.

What was Patrice Lumumba known for?

Patrice Lumumba was known for: First Prime Minister of independent Congo. Patrice Émery Lumumba was a Congolese politician and independence leader who served as the first prime minister of the First Congolese Republic from June until September 1960, following the May 1960 election. Lumumba was the leader of the Congolese National Movement (MNC) from 1958 until his assassination in 1961. Ideologically an African nationalist and pan-Africanist, he played a significant role in the transformation of the Congo from a colony of Belgium into an independent republic.

Who was alive at the same time as Patrice Lumumba?

Patrice Lumumba's closest contemporary was Winston Churchill. Their lives overlapped for 36 years.