Bernard Gagnon — CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons 1666 The four cornerstones of the Castle of Good Hope were laid at the Cape, beginning construction of what is today the oldest surviving colonial building in South Africa.
HistoryOn this day — January 2 in African history
Real events, births and milestones from Africa and the diaspora.
Bernard Gagnon — CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons 1666 
Photo by Ball — Public Domain, Wikimedia Commons 1896 Leander Starr Jameson surrendered to Boer forces at Doornkop near Krugersdorp, ending the failed Jameson Raid into the Transvaal.
Politics
Olga Ernst — CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons 1887 The first organized Kaapse Klopse (Cape Minstrel) troupe paraded in Cape Town, a tradition rooted in the one annual day off once granted to enslaved people at the Cape.
Culture
District of Columbia government — Public Domain, Wikimedia Commons 1991 Sharon Pratt Dixon was inaugurated as Mayor of Washington, D.C., becoming the first African American woman to lead a major U.S. city.
Politics
Government of Somalia — Public Domain, Wikimedia Commons 1995 Siad Barre, exiled former military ruler and third President of Somalia, died in Lagos, Nigeria, having been ousted from power in the 1991 Somali civil war.
Death