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.
Public Domain, Wikimedia Commons 1964 Sidney Poitier became the first Black actor to win the Academy Award for Best Actor, honored for his role in 'Lilies of the Field.'
Sources: Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (Oscars.org) ; ABC News
Culture
Rob Mieremet / Anefo, CC0, Wikimedia Commons 1922 Julius Nyerere, Tanzanian independence leader who became the country's first president and a leading pan-Africanist thinker, was born in Butiama, Tanganyika.
Sources: South African History Online ; Mwalimu Nyerere Foundation
BirthRebel forces of the United Front for Democratic Change attacked N'Djamena, the capital of Chad, but were repelled by the Chadian army.
Sources: Human Rights Watch ; United Nations Security Council
Politics
Public Domain, Wikimedia Commons 1868 Emperor Tewodros II of Ethiopia, who modernized the Ethiopian state and is regarded as the founder of modern Ethiopia, died by suicide as British forces stormed his fortress at Magdala.
Sources: Victoria and Albert Museum ; National Army Museum (UK)
Death
UNESCO, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons 1978 Funmilayo Ransome-Kuti, Nigerian educator and pioneering women's rights activist (and mother of musician Fela Kuti), died from injuries sustained when soldiers raided her son's compound.
Sources: Al Jazeera ; Encyclopaedia Britannica
Death