The capital and largest city of Congo (formerly Zaire), in the western part of the country on the Congo River. Founded in 1881 by the explorer Henry M. Stanley, who named it after his patron, Leopold II of Belgium, it became capital of the Belgian Congo in 1926 and was the scene of the revolt (June 1960) that led to Congo's independence. In 1966 its name was changed to Kinshasa, after the name of an early village that occupied the site. Population: 7,270,000.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Copyright © 2007, 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2007. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
