Public Domain, Wikimedia Commons 1885 King Leopold II of Belgium establishes the Congo Free State as his personal possession, beginning one of the most brutal colonial regimes in African history.
Colonial HistoryOn this day — February 5 in African history
Real events, births and milestones from Africa and the diaspora.
Public Domain, Wikimedia Commons 1885 
Public Domain, Wikimedia Commons 1941 Allied forces begin the Battle of Keren to capture the strategic town of Keren, Eritrea, during World War II.
BattleFrench President Charles de Gaulle calls for Algeria to be granted independence, a major turning point in the Algerian War.
Politics
CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons 1985 The mayors of Rome and Carthage sign a treaty of friendship in Tunis, officially and symbolically ending the Third Punic War after 2,131 years.
Culture
CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons 1982 Neil Aggett, a Kenyan-born South African physician and anti-apartheid trade union organiser, dies in police detention after 70 days without trial.
Death
Public Domain, Wikimedia Commons 2005 Gnassingbé Eyadéma, longtime President of Togo who ruled for 38 years, dies.
Death