Amadou Hampate Ba, the Malian writer and ethnologist who preserved West African oral traditions in print, died.
Sources: Duke University Press ; Qiraat Africa ; Nofi Media
Death
Ceiling of Debre Birhan Selassie church, Gondar, Ethiopia. Photo: Rod Waddington, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons. Licence · Source
On this day: May 15 in African history
Real events, births and milestones from Africa and the diaspora.
Ricardo Stuckert/PR, CC BY 3.0 br, Wikimedia Commons 2013 Henrique Rosa, who served as President of Guinea-Bissau, died.
Sources: Público (Portugal) ; RTP Notícias
DeathGhana launched CanSat, a small satellite payload used to train students in space science, part of its early space-programme efforts.
Sources: Voice of America ; ModernGhana (Myjoyonline copy)
Science
Ahmed ABDELMOUMEN, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons 1955 Mohamed Brahmi, Tunisian politician later assassinated during the country's post-revolution turmoil, was born.
Sources: Marsad (Al Bawsala, Tunisia) ; Nawaat
BirthEgypt and other Arab states invaded the newly declared state of Israel, beginning the 1948 Arab-Israeli War.
Sources: Office of the Historian, U.S. Department of State ; United Nations (UNISPAL, Question of Palestine)
History