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.
Leaders of 32 independent African states meeting in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia founded the Organisation of African Unity, the event commemorated across the continent as Africa Day.
Sources: United Nations (Treaty Series, vol. 479, no. 6947) ; African Union ; Library of Congress
Read the full article: The Founding of the Organisation of African Unity, May 25, 1963
Independence
Public Domain, Wikimedia Commons 1969 Colonel Gaafar Nimeiry led the 'May Revolution' military coup that overthrew Sudan's civilian government, beginning sixteen years of his rule.
Sources: Sudan Ministry of Culture and Information ; GlobalSecurity.org
Read the full article: Jaafar Nimeiry: Sudan's Coup-Prone Ruler, 1969-1985
Politics
Eric Beauchemin, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons A military coup in Sierra Leone ousted elected President Ahmad Tejan Kabbah and installed Major Johnny Paul Koroma.
Sources: Sierra Leone Web ; The Guardian ; Africa Confidential
Politics
Amanda Lucidon / White House, Public Domain, Wikimedia Commons 1965 Yahya Jammeh, who later ruled the Gambia as president for 22 years, was born.
Sources: BBC News ; Encyclopedia.com (Gale, Contemporary Black Biography)
Birth
Erik van Leeuwen, attribution: Erik van Leeuwen (bron: Wikipedia)., GFDL, Wikimedia Commons 1982 Ezekiel Kemboi, the Kenyan steeplechaser and two-time Olympic champion over 3,000 metres, was born.
Sources: World Athletics ; Olympedia
Corrected in September 2026 · see what changed
Birth
Ultraslansi, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons 1985 Demba Ba, Senegalese international footballer, was born.
Sources: WorldFootball.net ; ESPN
Birth
Public Domain, Wikimedia Commons 1983 Idris, the only king Libya has had, died in Cairo. Officers led by Muammar Gaddafi deposed him in 1969 while he was abroad, and Egypt gave him asylum for the rest of his life.
Sources: BlackPast ; The Washington Post
DeathJoetha Collier, a Black Mississippi high school graduate, was fatally shot hours after her graduation ceremony, a killing that drew national civil rights attention.
Sources: PBS Frontline ; U.S. Department of Justice, Civil Rights Division ; Bates College, Edmund S. Muskie Archives
Civil Rights