On this day: May 3 in African history

The Windhoek Declaration on press freedom was adopted by African journalists meeting in Windhoek, Namibia, the origin of UNESCO's World Press Freedom Day.

Sources: UNESCO ; Media Institute of Southern Africa

Mieremet, Rob / Anefo, CC BY-SA 3.0 nl, Wikimedia Commons

Georges Moustaki, Egyptian-born French singer-songwriter, was born in Alexandria.

Sources: The Guardian ; The New York Times

Clara Luper, American educator and civil rights leader who organized some of the first sit-ins of the movement, was born.

Sources: U.S. Government Publishing Office (Congressional Record) ; Oklahoma Historical Society

Police in Birmingham, Alabama turned fire hoses and dogs on civil rights demonstrators, images that drew worldwide attention to the American civil rights movement.

Sources: National Park Service ; Slate ; Encyclopedia of Alabama

Quintin Soloviev, CC BY 4.0, Wikimedia Commons

Alex Iwobi, Nigerian international footballer, was born.

Sources: Arsenal FC ; Sports Reference (FBref)

Public Domain, Wikimedia Commons

During the Second Boer War, British and Boer forces fought at Brandfort in the Orange Free State.

Sources: War Museum of the Boer Republics ; South African History Online (Martin Marix Evans, Encyclopedia of the Boer War)

Corrected in September 2026 · see what changed

Nzinga a Nkuwu, king of Kongo, was baptized with several of his nobles and took the name João, after the king of Portugal. The chronicler Rui de Pina dates the baptism to the feast of the Invention of the Cross.

Sources: RES: Anthropology and Aesthetics, University of Chicago Press ; Internet Archive

Read the full article: Kongo, Central Africa's Christian Kingdom