On this day — April 13 in African history

Public Domain, Wikimedia Commons

Sidney Poitier became the first Black actor to win the Academy Award for Best Actor, honored for his role in 'Lilies of the Field.'

Rob Mieremet / Anefo — CC0, Wikimedia Commons

Julius Nyerere, Tanzanian independence leader who became the country's first president and a leading pan-Africanist thinker, was born in Butiama, Tanganyika.

Rebel forces of the United Front for Democratic Change attacked N'Djamena, the capital of Chad, but were repelled by the Chadian army.

Public Domain, Wikimedia Commons

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.

UNESCO — CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons

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.