On this day: July 26 in African history

Library of Congress, Public Domain, Wikimedia Commons

Liberia declared independence, becoming Africa's first modern republic.

Sources: HISTORY (A&E Networks) ; U.S. Department of State, Office of the Historian

Read the full article: The American Colonization Society and the Founding of Liberia

Stevan Kragujevic, Public Domain, Wikimedia Commons

Egyptian President Gamal Abdel Nasser nationalized the Suez Canal, triggering the Suez Crisis.

Sources: U.S. Department of State, Office of the Historian ; The National Archives (UK) / FCO Historians

Fighting between Boko Haram and the security forces spread across northern Nigeria over several days and killed hundreds. Mohammed Yusuf, the group's founder, was captured by soldiers and handed to the police in Maiduguri, where he died within hours. A Reuters reporter had seen him at the military barracks shortly before with no visible injuries. His death in custody is widely taken as the point at which the group turned to insurgency, and nearly 30,000 people were killed in the decade that followed.

Sources: France 24 ; Al Jazeera

Corrected in September 2026 · see what changed

The Boer Republic of Stellaland was founded in Southern Africa, in what is now the North West province of South Africa.

Sources: South African History Online ; Flags of the World (CRW Flags)

Corrected in September 2026 · see what changed

Unknown author, Public Domain, Wikimedia Commons

King Farouk of Egypt abdicated the throne in favor of his infant son Fuad II, days after the Free Officers' coup.

Sources: Gulf News ; Lumen Learning (SUNY World History)

A Royal Moroccan Air Force C-130 Hercules crashed near Guelmim, Morocco, killing all 80 people aboard.

Sources: ABC News (Australia) ; Voice of America