On this day — April 10 in African history
Real events, births and milestones from Africa and the diaspora.
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Public Domain, Wikimedia Commons 1868 British and Indian troops under Robert Napier met the army of Tewodros II on the plain below Magdala. Rockets and breech-loading rifles against muzzle-loaders and spears produced 700 Ethiopian dead and 1,200 wounded against two British killed. Tewodros shot himself three days later as the British took the fortress, and they carried off the manuscripts and regalia that Ethiopia is still asking for.
Sources: National Army Museum ; BritishBattles.com
History 
Public Domain, Wikimedia Commons 1900 During the Second Boer War, Boer forces inflicted a sharp defeat on British troops south of Brandfort, killing or wounding 600 and capturing 800 more.
History 
Public Domain, Wikimedia Commons 1932 Omar Sharif, Egyptian actor regarded as his country's greatest film star and known internationally for 'Lawrence of Arabia' and 'Doctor Zhivago,' was born in Alexandria.
Birth 
World Economic Forum — CC BY-SA 2.0, Wikimedia Commons 1957 Aliko Dangote, Nigerian businessman who built the Dangote Group into Africa's largest industrial conglomerate and became the continent's richest person, was born in Kano.
Birth 
Sabata Mcatshulwa (Chris Hani Monument) — CC0, Wikimedia Commons 1993 Chris Hani, South African Communist Party leader and anti-apartheid revolutionary, was assassinated outside his home, a killing that nearly derailed South Africa's transition from apartheid.
Death 2015 Rose Francine Rogombé, Gabonese lawyer and politician who served as acting President of Gabon in 2009 after the death of Omar Bongo, died in Paris.
Death 