François Duvalier (1907–1971)

Born 1907 CE, died 1971 CE.

François Duvalier (14 April 1907 – 21 April 1971), also known as Papa Doc, was a Haitian politician, dictator and physician who served as president of Haiti from 1957 until his death in 1971. Duvalier completed a degree in medicine from the University of Haiti in 1934 and spent a year at the University of Michigan studying public health. In 1943 he became active in a campaign to control the spread of contagious tropical diseases in Haiti. His patients affectionately called him "Papa Doc," a moniker that he used throughout his life. Duvalier served as Minister for Public Health and Labor under the administration of Dumarsais Estimé. Duvalier was elected president in the 1957 general election on a populist and black nationalist platform. After thwarting a military coup d'état in July 1958, his regime rapidly became more autocratic and eventually totalitarian. Duvalier was unanimously "re-elected" in a 1961 presidential election in which he was the only candidate.

Text from the Wikipedia article François_Duvalier, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Everything else in 1907 CE

HistoryLayer draws the world as it was in any year from 123,000 BCE to 2026. Move the slider and the borders redraw for that year; the map carries 23,890 events, 12,790 people, 837 wars and 13,183 cities, each one readable in place. Signing in is optional and lets you keep what you find.

HistoryLayer
1914CE
World Wars
123,000 BCE2026 CE
54 stops — one per surviving map on file, evenly spaced drag the pin · ←→ steps one stop the same 54 stops by true elapsed time ↑
Map & filters
Show on the map
Filter
Colour by
Polity Empire