Ceiling of Debre Birhan Selassie church, Gondar, Ethiopia. Photo: Rod Waddington, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons. Licence · Source
Real events, births and milestones from Africa and the diaspora.
We are adding a source to every entry in this archive. 6 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 1782 British forces under Captain Thomas Shirley failed to take Elmina but captured the Dutch forts of Mouri, Cormantine, Apam and Bereku on the Gold Coast.
Sources: Carl Christian Reindorf, History of the Gold Coast and Asante (1895), via Internet Archive ; George Macdonald, The Gold Coast Past and Present (1898), via Internet Archive
Corrected in September 2026 · see what changed
Colonial History
Public Domain, Wikimedia Commons 1900 Imperial forces suffered their worst single-day loss of life on 'Bloody Sunday', the first day of the Battle of Paardeberg during the Second Boer War.
Sources: historyofwar.org (John Rickard) ; The Guardian ; Canadian War Museum
Battle
Public Domain, Wikimedia Commons 1957 Kenyan rebel leader Dedan Kimathi, a commander of the Mau Mau uprising, was executed by the British colonial government.
Sources: Deutsche Welle (DW) ; BlackPast.org
Death
Public Domain, Wikimedia Commons 1965 The Gambia became independent from the United Kingdom.
Sources: legislation.gov.uk (The National Archives) ; UK Parliament (Hansard, HC Deb 18 November 1964 vol 702)
Independence
CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons 1977 Soldiers raided the Kalakuta Republic commune of Nigerian musician Fela Kuti, leading to fatal injuries for his mother, activist Funmilayo Ransome-Kuti.
Sources: The New York Times ; The Guardian ; felakuti.com (Fela Kuti official site, Kalakuta Museum) ; TheCable
DeathNana Amba Eyiaba I, Ghanaian queen mother and traditional-leadership advocate, was born.
Birth
Photo by Reginald Kerr Granville (1897), Public Domain, Wikimedia Commons 1897 A British naval and protectorate force captured Benin City, eight days after its advance began, and Oba Ovonramwen left the city with most of his chiefs. Egharevba, following the expedition's surgeon, gives the 17th.
Sources: Journal of African History ; The London Gazette ; Internet Archive
Read the full articles: The Kingdom of Benin, the Edo State Ruled From Benin City · 1897 and the Benin Bronzes
Conflict