1960 burkina faso then known as upper volta becomes independent 08 05
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1960 66 years ago Historical Events August 5 2 sources

Burkina Faso, then known as Upper Volta, becomes independent from France.

On August 5, in the year 1960, Burkina Faso, then known as Upper Volta, becomes independent from France. This event is recorded as a Historical Events event in the history of August 5, one of 467 recorded events on this date across all of history.

Burkina Faso is a landlocked country in West Africa. It is bordered by Mali to the northwest, Niger to the northeast, Benin to the southeast, Togo and Ghana to the south, and Ivory Coast to the southwest. It covers an area of 274,223 km2 (105,878 sq mi). In 2024, the country had an estimated population of approximately 23,286,000. After independence in 1958 it was called the Republic of Upper Volta from 1958. In 1984, it was renamed Burkina Faso by then-president Thomas Sankara. Its citizens are known as Burkinabes, and its capital and largest city is Ouagadougou.

Key Facts

  • This event took place on August 5, 1960 (AD era).
  • It is categorised as a Historical Events event in recorded history.
  • Referenced in 2 Wikipedia articles.
  • The event is associated with a specific geographical location (see map below).
  • Wikipedia source last updated on 28 July 2026.

On This Date in History 467

Type Year Date Event
Notable Deaths 2025 Aug 5 Col Joye, Australian singer-songwriter and guitarist (born 1937)
Historical Events 2024 Aug 5 Following the non-cooperation movement against the government of Bangladesh, Bangladeshi prime minister Sheikh Hasina…
Notable Deaths 2022 Aug 5 Judith Durham, Australian singer-songwriter (born 1943)
Notable Deaths 2022 Aug 5 Cherie Gil, Filipino actress (born 1963)
Notable Deaths 2022 Aug 5 Ali Haydar, Syrian army officer (born 1932)
Notable Deaths 2022 Aug 5 Issey Miyake, Japanese fashion designer (born 1938)
Notable Deaths 2022 Aug 5 Dillon Quirke, Irish hurler (born 1998)
Historical Events 2021 Aug 5 Australia's second most populous state Victoria enters its sixth COVID-19 lockdown, enacting stage four restrictions…
Notable Deaths 2020 Aug 5 Hawa Abdi, Somali human rights activist and physician (born 1947)
Historical Events 2019 Aug 5 The revocation of the special status of Jammu and Kashmir (state) occurred and the state was bifurcated into two union…
Notable Deaths 2019 Aug 5 Toni Morrison, American author, Pulitzer Prize winner, and Nobel laureate (born 1931).
Notable Deaths 2018 Aug 5 Alan Rabinowitz, American zoologist (born 1953)
Historical Events 2015 Aug 5 The Environmental Protection Agency at Gold King Mine waste water spill releases three million gallons of heavy metal…
Notable Deaths 2015 Aug 5 Arthur Walter James, English journalist and politician (born 1912)
Notable Deaths 2015 Aug 5 Tony Millington, Welsh footballer (born 1943)
Selected Events 2015 Aug 5 United States Environmental Protection Agency personnel accidentally caused a spillage (aftermath pictured) of…
Notable Deaths 2014 Aug 5 Harold J. Greene, American general (born 1962)
Notable Deaths 2014 Aug 5 Vladimir Orlov, Russian author (born 1936)
Notable Deaths 2014 Aug 5 Chapman Pincher, Indian-English historian, journalist, and author (born 1914)
Notable Deaths 2014 Aug 5 Jesse Leonard Steinfeld, American physician and academic, 11th Surgeon General of the United States (born 1927)
Notable Deaths 2013 Aug 5 Ruth Asawa, American sculptor and educator (born 1926)
Notable Deaths 2013 Aug 5 Shawn Burr, Canadian-American ice hockey player (born 1966)
Notable Deaths 2013 Aug 5 Willie Dunn, Canadian singer-songwriter and producer (born 1942)
Notable Deaths 2013 Aug 5 Roy Rubin, American basketball player and coach (born 1925)
Notable Deaths 2013 Aug 5 May Song Vang, American activist (born 1951)
Notable Deaths 2013 Aug 5 Rob Wyda, American commander and judge (born 1959)
Selected Events 2013 Aug 5 A python killed two boys in Campbellton, New Brunswick, Canada.
Selected Events 2013 Aug 5 A python killed two boys in Campbellton in New Brunswick, Canada.
Historical Events 2012 Aug 5 The Wisconsin Sikh temple shooting took place in Oak Creek, Wisconsin, killing six victims; the perpetrator committed…
Notable Deaths 2012 Aug 5 Erwin Axer, Polish director and screenwriter (born 1917)
Notable Deaths 2012 Aug 5 Michel Daerden, Belgian lawyer and politician (born 1949)
Notable Deaths 2012 Aug 5 Fred Matua, American football player (born 1984)
Notable Deaths 2012 Aug 5 Martin E. Segal, Russian-American businessman, co-founded Film Society of Lincoln Center (born 1916)
Notable Deaths 2012 Aug 5 Chavela Vargas, Costa Rican-Mexican singer-songwriter and actress (born 1919)
Notable Deaths 2012 Aug 5 Roland Charles Wagner, French author and translator (born 1960)
Selected Events 2012 Aug 5 Radio Network House (pictured), damaged in the 2011 Christchurch earthquake, becomes the first building to be…
Selected Events 2012 Aug 5 An American white supremacist carried out a mass shooting at a Sikh temple in Oak Creek, Wisconsin, killing six people…
Notable Deaths 2011 Aug 5 Andrzej Lepper, Polish farmer and politician, Deputy Prime Minister of Poland (born 1954)
Notable Deaths 2011 Aug 5 Aziz Shavershian, Australian bodybuilder (born 1989)
Selected Events 2011 Aug 5 NASA launched the Juno probe to Jupiter as part of the New Frontiers program.
Historical Events 2010 Aug 5 The Copiapó mining accident occurs, trapping 33 Chilean miners approximately 2,300 ft (700 m) below the ground for 69…
Historical Events 2010 Aug 5 Ten members of International Assistance Mission Nuristan Eye Camp team are killed by persons unknown in Kuran wa…
Notable Deaths 2009 Aug 5 Budd Schulberg, American author, screenwriter, and producer (born 1914)
Historical Events 2008 Aug 5 The New England Revolution win the 2008 North American SuperLiga final against the Houston Dynamo.
Notable Births 2008 Aug 5 Hudson Meek, American actor (died 2024)
Notable Deaths 2008 Aug 5 Neil Bartlett, English-American chemist and academic (born 1932)
Notable Deaths 2008 Aug 5 Reg Lindsay, Australian singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer (born 1929)
Notable Deaths 2007 Aug 5 Jean-Marie Lustiger, French cardinal (born 1926)
Notable Deaths 2007 Aug 5 Florian Pittiș, Romanian actor, singer, director, and producer (born 1943)
Notable Deaths 2005 Aug 5 Polina Astakhova, Russian gymnast and coach (born 1936)

This article draws on content from Wikipedia, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.

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