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.
The Slave Trade Act 1807 took effect, abolishing the slave trade throughout the British Empire, a landmark step against the transatlantic trade that had devastated West and Central Africa.
Sources: Electronic Scholarly Publishing ; U.S. Government Publishing Office (H. Con. Res. 73, 111th Congress)
Abolition
Gouvernement Maroc, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons 1919 Mohammed Karim Lamrani, Moroccan businessman who served three separate terms as Prime Minister of Morocco, was born.
Sources: Morocco World News ; Kingdom of Morocco (Maroc.ma), Government of Morocco
Birth
Yvannoé, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons 1927 Albert Zafy, who became the third President of Madagascar, was born.
Sources: GlobalSecurity.org ; Mongabay Data (Country Studies: Madagascar) ; BBC News Afrique
BirthMay Day became an officially recognized public holiday in South Africa, reflecting the new government's ties to the labour movement that helped end apartheid.
Sources: Republic of South Africa (Government Gazette No. 16136, 7 December 1994) ; South African History Online
Culture
Thealfe Studios, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons 2000 Rema, Nigerian Afrobeats singer-songwriter and rapper, was born.
Sources: Pulse Nigeria ; Legit.ng
BirthMarc-Vivien Foe, the Cameroonian midfielder who later died on the pitch during a 2003 Confederations Cup match, was born.
Sources: L'Equipe ; The Guardian
Corrected in September 2026 · see what changed
Birth