National Archives of Malawi, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons 1964 Malawi, formerly the British protectorate of Nyasaland, gained independence.
Sources: U.S. Department of State Office of the Historian ; African American Registry
Independence
Ceiling of Debre Birhan Selassie church, Gondar, Ethiopia. Photo: Rod Waddington, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons. Licence · Source
On this day: July 6 in African history
Real events, births and milestones from Africa and the diaspora.
National Archives of Malawi, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons 1964 
Photo by Peter Williams, ICRC, CC0 1.0, Wikimedia Commons Nigerian federal troops crossed into Biafra, beginning the Nigerian Civil War.
Sources: HISTORY (A&E Networks) ; BlackPast.org
Read the full article: The End of the Nigerian Civil War and Gowon's 'No Victor, No Vanquished' Policy
Politics
Zscout370 and contributors, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons 1975 Comoros declared independence from France.
Sources: South African History Online ; U.S. Department of State
Independence
Unknown photographer (published San Francisco Examiner, 1976), Public Domain, Wikimedia Commons The South African government abandoned its policy of compulsory Afrikaans-medium instruction in Black schools in the wake of the Soweto uprising.
Sources: Nelson Mandela Foundation (O'Malley Archives) ; South African History Online
PoliticsA Muslim Arab army under 'Amr ibn al-'As defeated Byzantine forces near Heliopolis in Egypt, a decisive battle in the Muslim conquest of Egypt.
Sources: World History Encyclopedia ; Internet Archive
History
Portuguese National Mint, Public Domain, Wikimedia Commons 1482 Portuguese navigator Diogo Cão became the first European to find the mouth of the Congo River.
Sources: Encyclopedia.com ; Global Maritime History
Corrected in September 2026 · see what changed
History National Archives of Malawi, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons 1966 Malawi became a republic within the Commonwealth, with Hastings Banda as its first president.
Sources: Encyclopedia.com ; Indiana University Libraries
PoliticsBessie Head, the acclaimed Botswanan writer known for novels such as 'When Rain Clouds Gather', was born in Pietermaritzburg, South Africa.
Sources: South African History Online ; Encyclopedia.com
Birth