On this day, August 4 1984, Upper Volta changed its name to Burkina Faso, and adopted its current flag.

The change happened after a coup, headed by the legendary Marxist and pan-Africanist Thomas Sankara. These ideologies are also reflected in the flag, with a Marxist-inspired design and the pan-African color palette. This makes the flag not a nice example of a simple yet beautiful design, but also a good example of how...