On this day — August 4 in African history

Pete Souza, Official White House Photo — CC BY 3.0, Wikimedia Commons

Barack Obama, who in 2009 would become the first African-American President of the United States and whose father was Kenyan, was born in Honolulu, Hawaii.

Public Domain, Wikimedia Commons

President Thomas Sankara renamed the Republic of Upper Volta to Burkina Faso, meaning "land of upright/honest people," on the first anniversary of his taking power.

Bundesarchiv, Bild 183-R96374 — CC BY-SA 3.0 DE, Wikimedia Commons

Jesse Owens won his second Berlin Olympics gold medal in the long jump, after German rival Luz Long publicly advised him on his technique.

Archives New Zealand — CC BY 2.0, Wikimedia Commons

Ugandan President Idi Amin ordered the expulsion of the country's South Asian minority, giving them 90 days to leave and upending tens of thousands of lives.

Georges Jansoone, CC BY 2.5, Wikimedia Commons

Moroccan forces defeated a Portuguese invasion at the Battle of Alcácer Quibir, killing King Sebastian of Portugal and Sultan Abd al-Malik, a clash so consequential it became known as the Battle of the Three Kings.

Abeid Karume, who would become the first president of Zanzibar after leading the 1964 revolution, was born on Pemba Island.