Portrait by M. Eug. Piron, Paris (1896), British Library — Public Domain, Wikimedia Commons 1852 Barney Barnato, a diamond magnate who helped shape South Africa's mining industry, was born in London.
BirthOn this day — July 5 in African history
Real events, births and milestones from Africa and the diaspora.
Portrait by M. Eug. Piron, Paris (1896), British Library — Public Domain, Wikimedia Commons 1852 
Unknown author (Force Publique on parade, late 1940s) — Public Domain, Wikimedia Commons 1960 Congolese soldiers of the Force Publique mutinied against their Belgian officers at Thysville, triggering the Congo Crisis.
Politics
UtCon Collection (FLN delegation at Évian, 1962) — Public Domain, Wikimedia Commons Algeria marked its official Independence Day, a date chosen to coincide with the anniversary of the 1830 French invasion.
Independence
Editor at Large and Waldir — Public Domain, Wikimedia Commons 1975 Cape Verde gained independence from Portugal.
IndependenceGermany took possession of Cameroon, establishing a colonial protectorate in West Africa.
History
Photo by Alexander Bassano — Public Domain, Wikimedia Commons 1853 Cecil Rhodes, the English-South African businessman and politician who became Prime Minister of the Cape Colony and whose diamond and mining empire shaped southern Africa, was born in Bishop's Stortford, England.
Birth
Public Domain, Wikimedia Commons 1973 Juvénal Habyarimana seized power in Rwanda in a military coup, ousting President Grégoire Kayibanda.
Politics