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 1889 Emperor Menelik II of Ethiopia signed the Treaty of Wuchale with Italy, a pact whose disputed translation later gave Italy grounds to claim a protectorate and set the stage for war.
Sources: Università di Parma ; Encyclopaedia Britannica
Politics
Kingkongphoto & www.celebrity-photos.com from Laurel, CC BY-SA 2.0, Wikimedia Commons Nelson Mandela and the African National Congress claimed victory following South Africa's first democratic, all-race elections.
Sources: Nelson Mandela Foundation ; BBC News
Politics
Joost Evers / Anefo, CC BY-SA 3.0 nl, Wikimedia Commons 1938 Moshoeshoe II, who reigned as King of Lesotho, was born.
Sources: The Presidency, Republic of South Africa ; Encyclopaedia Britannica
Birth
Byzantine Institute staff, Public Domain, Wikimedia Commons 373 Athanasius of Alexandria, the Egyptian bishop and theologian famed for his defence of Christian orthodoxy, died.
Sources: New Advent (Catholic Encyclopedia, 1907) ; Encyclopaedia Britannica
DeathArmed men of the mainly Christian Tarok surrounded Yelwa in Plateau State and killed about 630 Muslim residents, in reprisal for attacks on Tarok villagers earlier in the year. Reprisals followed against Christians in Kano. Human Rights Watch counted more than 700 dead across the cycle of killings that ran from February, and President Obasanjo declared a state of emergency in Plateau on 18 May.
Sources: Human Rights Watch ; Human Rights Watch
Corrected in September 2026 · see what changed
History