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.

Sources: Miller Center, University of Virginia ; Encyclopedia.com

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.

Sources: History Snacks ; Advance.hr

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.

Sources: Olympics.com (International Olympic Committee) ; History.com (A&E Television Networks)

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.

Sources: House of Lords Library (UK Parliament) ; UNHCR Canada

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.

Sources: Encyclopaedia Britannica ; Arab America

Abeid Karume, who would become the first president of Zanzibar after leading the 1964 revolution, was born in the Zanzibar Sultanate.

Sources: Tanzania Daily News ; Encyclopedia.com (Encyclopedia of World Biography)

Corrected in September 2026 · see what changed