On this day: July 29 in African history

Unknown author (National Library of Nigeria), Public Domain, Wikimedia Commons

Northern Nigerian soldiers mutinied at Abeokuta barracks in a counter-coup that brought Yakubu Gowon to power.

Sources: Dawodu.com (Nigerian historical documents archive) ; Office of the Historian, U.S. Department of State ; Pulse Nigeria

Office of the Speaker of the US House of Representatives, Public Domain, Wikimedia Commons

The US House of Representatives formally apologized for slavery and Jim Crow-era discrimination against African Americans.

Sources: U.S. Government Publishing Office (congress.gov) ; Black Enterprise

Sheik Umar Khan, Sierra Leone's leading Ebola physician, died after contracting the virus while treating patients.

Sources: Fox News ; HuffPost

The Slocum massacre began in Texas, a race riot in which a White mob killed at least eight African Americans over two days, according to the contemporary investigation; researchers who have since revisited the case believe the true toll was far higher, with bodies scattered through the woods and never fully counted.

Sources: Texas State Historical Association (Handbook of Texas) ; Zinn Education Project ; Equal Justice Initiative

Corrected in September 2026 · see what changed

An overloaded passenger ferry capsized on the Kasai River in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, killing at least 80 people.

Sources: NBC News ; Fox News ; ScienceBlogs (citing BBC)

National Library of Nigeria, Public Domain, Wikimedia Commons

Nigerian head of state Johnson Aguiyi-Ironsi was killed during a counter-coup led by northern Nigerian soldiers.

Sources: The ICIR ; Premium Times ; OldNaija

Foday Sankoh, the Sierra Leonean rebel leader who founded the Revolutionary United Front and led forces during the country's brutal civil war, died awaiting trial.

Sources: UN News ; Residual Special Court for Sierra Leone