Unknown photographer (Hulton Archive/Getty Images), Public Domain, Wikimedia Commons 1892 Haile Selassie, who became Ethiopia's emperor and a symbol of African independence, was born.
Sources: BlackPast.org ; Biography.com
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 23 in African history
Real events, births and milestones from Africa and the diaspora.
Unknown photographer (Hulton Archive/Getty Images), Public Domain, Wikimedia Commons 1892 
Unknown author (Bibliotheca Alexandrina), Public Domain, Wikimedia Commons Free Officers led by Gamal Abdel Nasser and Muhammad Naguib seized power in Egypt, forcing King Farouk to abdicate.
Sources: History.com ; Middle East Monitor
Read the full article: Egypt's 1952 Free Officers Coup: The Fall of King Farouk
Politics
A1C Felicia L. Wilson / US Dept. of Defense, Public Domain, Wikimedia Commons Hassan II, king of Morocco for nearly four decades, died in Rabat.
Sources: Encyclopedia.com ; Unofficial Royalty
Death.jpg)
The Library of the London School of Economics and Political Science, Public Domain, Wikimedia Commons 2001 Nelson Mandela mediated a Burundi peace summit in Arusha, Tanzania, bringing together the country's warring factions.
Sources: World Socialist Web Site ; Africa at LSE (London School of Economics) ; Amnesty International
Politics
Smithsonian National Portrait Gallery, CC0, Wikimedia Commons 1962 Jackie Robinson became the first African American inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame.
Sources: National Baseball Hall of Fame ; CBS Sports
HistoryThree bombs went off in Sharm el-Sheikh, one at the Old Market in the town centre and two in the Naama Bay hotel strip, the largest a truck bomb driven into the lobby of the Ghazala Gardens hotel. At least 88 people were killed and more than 200 wounded. Most of the dead were Egyptians rather than foreign tourists.
Sources: RFE/RL ; Al Jazeera
Corrected in September 2026 · see what changed
ConflictElspeth Huxley, the English author best known for her memoir of colonial Kenya, 'The Flame Trees of Thika', was born.
Sources: Encyclopedia.com ; University of Reading, Tales from the Archives
Birth
Jean-Louis Debaize, European Communities, CC BY 4.0, Wikimedia Commons 1925 Quett Masire, who served as Botswana's vice president and later its second president, was born.
Sources: Encyclopedia.com ; Club de Madrid
BirthFrench forces broke the siege of Bizerte, ending days of fighting with Tunisian forces over the French naval base.
Sources: Polynational War Memorial ; K.
Corrected in September 2026 · see what changed
Conflict