CC BY 3.0, Wikimedia Commons 1973 Israeli fighter jets shot down Libyan Arab Airlines Flight 114 over the Sinai Desert, killing 108 people.
TragedyOn this day — February 21 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.
CC BY 3.0, Wikimedia Commons 1973 Israel finished pulling its forces back from the west bank of the Suez Canal, in stages, under the disengagement agreement signed with Egypt on 18 January. Egypt cut its own troop numbers on the east bank in return, and a UN buffer zone was set between the two.
Sources: Economic Cooperation Foundation ; US Department of State, Office of the Historian
Politics
Public Domain, Wikimedia Commons 1924 Robert Mugabe, who became the 2nd President of Zimbabwe and led the country for nearly four decades, was born.
Birth
KOGL Type 1, Wikimedia Commons 1950 Sahle-Work Zewde, who became the 5th President of Ethiopia and its first woman head of state, was born.
Birth
CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons 1991 Riyad Mahrez, Algerian international footballer, was born.
Birth
Public Domain, Wikimedia Commons Malcolm X, American minister and civil rights activist, was assassinated at the Audubon Ballroom in New York.
Death
Public Domain, Wikimedia Commons 2017 Jeanne Martin Cissé, Guinean politician and independence-era figure who became the first woman to preside over the UN Security Council, died.
Death