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.
We are adding a source to every entry in this archive. 6 of 7 on this page carry one so far. The rest were written before per-entry citations were recorded, so if you intend to rely on one, check it independently until its source appears here. See our sourcing methodology.
Photographer unknown, Anefo / Nationaal Archief, CC0 1.0, Wikimedia Commons 1960 Congolese Prime Minister Patrice Lumumba and President Joseph Kasa-Vubu cabled the United Nations requesting military assistance against Belgian intervention.
Sources: U.S. Department of State, Office of the Historian ; United Nations, Dag Hammarskjöld Library
Politics
Photo by Kenneth E. Noyes, U.S. Air Force / NARA (1986), Public Domain, Wikimedia Commons 1975 São Tomé and Príncipe gained independence from Portugal, with Manuel Pinto da Costa becoming its first president.
Sources: South African History Online ; U.S. Department of State, Office of the Historian
Independence
Photo by Helene C. Stikkel, U.S. Department of Defense (2001), Public Domain, Wikimedia Commons 2003 US President George W. Bush met Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo to discuss relocating former Liberian President Charles Taylor into exile in Nigeria.
Sources: The White House (George W. Bush Administration, archived) ; PBS NewsHour
PoliticsA fuel tanker swerved to avoid a collision on the road at Okobie in Rivers State, went into a ditch and spilled its load. Hundreds of people came to collect the petrol. It exploded about forty minutes later. Rescuers recovered 95 bodies at the scene and the toll was later put at 121, with at least 75 injured.
Sources: Channels Television ; Al Jazeera
Corrected in September 2026 · see what changed
DisasterČSA Flight 511 crashed at Casablanca-Anfa Airport in Morocco, killing 72 people.
Sources: Aviation Safety Network (Flight Safety Foundation) ; Bureau of Aircraft Accidents Archives (B3A)
Disaster
Ukkel, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons 2010 Pius Njawé, a pioneering Cameroonian journalist and press-freedom advocate who founded the newspaper Le Messager, died in a car accident in the United States.
Sources: Committee to Protect Journalists ; International Federation of Journalists
Death
Photo by Jummai, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons 1963 South African anti-apartheid activist Neville Alexander was arrested along with fellow members of the National Liberation Front.
Corrected in September 2026 · see what changed
Politics