The French National Convention decreed the abolition of slavery throughout the French First Republic and its colonies.
AbolitionOn this day — February 4 in African history
Real events, births and milestones from Africa and the diaspora.
We are adding a source to every entry in this archive. 1 of 7 on this page carry one so far. The rest were written before per-entry citations were recorded, so if you intend to rely on one, check it independently until its source appears here. See our sourcing methodology.
Public Domain, Wikimedia Commons 1859 The Codex Sinaiticus, one of the oldest surviving manuscripts of the Bible, was discovered at Saint Catherine's Monastery in Egypt.
Culture
Copyrighted free use, Wikimedia Commons 1961 The Angolan War of Independence began as part of the wider Portuguese Colonial War.
IndependenceAmadou Diallo, an unarmed 23-year-old Guinean immigrant, was killed on the steps of his Bronx apartment building by four plainclothes NYPD officers who fired 41 shots, hitting him 19 times. The officers were later acquitted, and the unit involved was disbanded.
Source: Stanford University Libraries
Diaspora
Public Domain, Wikimedia Commons 2003 Benyoucef Benkhedda, Algerian politician who led the exile government during the Algerian War of Independence, died.
Death
Public Domain, Wikimedia Commons 2020 Daniel arap Moi, former President of Kenya who led the country for 24 years, died.
Death
CC BY-SA 2.0, Wikimedia Commons 2023 Sherif Ismail, the 53rd Prime Minister of Egypt, died.
Death