John Mathew Smith, CC BY-SA 2.0, Wikimedia Commons Nelson Mandela was born in Mvezo, in South Africa's Eastern Cape.
Sources: South African History Online ; SAnews (South African Government News Agency)
Birth
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 18 in African history
Real events, births and milestones from Africa and the diaspora.
John Mathew Smith, CC BY-SA 2.0, Wikimedia Commons 
Unknown author, CC0, Wikimedia Commons The Rwandan Patriotic Front declared the civil war and genocide over as the defeated government fled into Zaire.
Sources: Peace Accords Matrix, Kroc Institute, University of Notre Dame ; Walter Dorn (walterdorn.net)
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South Africa The Good News, CC BY 2.0, Wikimedia Commons 2010 The United Nations marked the first Nelson Mandela International Day, established the previous year to honor his legacy.
Sources: UN News ; Geneva International Centre for Justice (GICJ)
Culture
Marie Madeleine Rignot-Dubaux, Public Domain, Wikimedia Commons 1857 French colonial governor Louis Faidherbe arrived with a relief force to break the siege of Fort Medine, near Kayes on the Senegal River, ending El Hadj Umar Tall's campaign against French expansion in the area.
Sources: Encyclopedia.com ; FindTourGuide.com
Corrected in September 2026 · see what changed
History
Bruno Christophe, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons 1910 Mamadou Dia, who became the first prime minister of independent Senegal, was born.
Sources: Wikinews ; Mail & Guardian
Birth