Anefo, CC0, Wikimedia Commons 1960 Belgium's King Baudouin defended continued Belgian involvement in Congo and voiced support for Katanga in a radio broadcast, deepening the Congo Crisis.
PoliticsOn this day — July 22 in African history
Real events, births and milestones from Africa and the diaspora.
We are adding a source to every entry in this archive. 4 of 5 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.
Anefo, CC0, Wikimedia Commons 1960 Jonathan Sangaya, a prominent church leader in Blantyre, Malawi, died.
Sources: Dictionary of African Christian Biography ; African Books Collective
Death
Augusto Ferrer-Dalmau — CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons 1921 About 3,000 Rifian fighters under Abd el-Krim broke a Spanish army of some 23,000 at Annual in northern Morocco and pursued it as it fell apart. Spanish dead are put at between 8,000 and 13,000, and by some accounts higher; General Manuel Fernández Silvestre, who commanded, did not survive. It was the worst defeat a colonial power had taken in Africa since Adwa, and the political fallout in Spain helped bring Primo de Rivera's coup two years later.
Sources: Britannica ; US Defense Technical Information Center
Conflict
The National Archives UK — OGL v1.0, Wikimedia Commons 1899 Sobhuza II, who reigned as King of Swaziland (Eswatini) for 82 years, one of the longest verified reigns in history, was born.
Sources: Unofficial Royalty ; Mental Floss
BirthThe first game of the South African rugby union team's controversial tour of New Zealand was held in Gisborne, a tour that sparked mass protests over apartheid.
Sources: Tairawhiti Museum ; The Spinoff
Sports