Skip to main content

The timeline can be navigated by dragging the pointer on the timeline bar, located at the bottom of the screen on the desktop version and on the left of the screen on mobile. To filter by a specific topic, make a selection on the dropdown “Filters” menu or click “Search” to do a keyword search. To learn more, click “Read More” below.

Read More

Ota Benga, a Congolese teenager, is exhibited at the St. Louis World's Fair.

Date: 1904

BH
GLSO
REL
CHIL
CCMS

Benga, who was captured when he was 12 or 13 years old from his home years in what is today the Democratic Republic of Congo, and is "displayed" at the World's Fair. Later, he will be put on "exhibit" at the Bronx Zoo in New York City in 1906.

After outrage from Christian ministers ends his incarceration, he will be moved to New York's Howard Coloured Orphan Asylum and then attend Lynchburg Theological Seminary and College for Black students in Virginia. Around 11 years after his kidnapping, he will commit suicide.