N'Djamena was founded as Fort-Lamy by the French commander Émile Gentil on May 29 1900. It was named after Amédée-François Lamy. He was an army officer who had been killed in the Battle of Kousséri a few days earlier. The name was changed to N'Djamena (taken from the Arab name "Niǧāmīnā", meaning ""place of rest"") by the President François Tombalbaye on April 6, 1973. It was changed to make it more African.