Ceiling of Debre Birhan Selassie church, Gondar, Ethiopia. Photo: Rod Waddington, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons. Licence · Source
Real events, births and milestones from Africa and the diaspora.
Public Domain, Wikimedia Commons 2006 Naguib Mahfouz, the Egyptian novelist who in 1988 became the first Arabic-language writer to win the Nobel Prize in Literature, died in Cairo at age 94.
Sources: The Nobel Foundation ; Al Jazeera ; The Guardian
Death
NASA, Public Domain, Wikimedia Commons 1983 Guion "Guy" Bluford became the first African American to travel into space, serving as a mission specialist aboard the Space Shuttle Challenger on STS-8.
Sources: NASA ; Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum
Science
Public Domain, Wikimedia Commons Thurgood Marshall was confirmed by the US Senate as the first African American justice of the Supreme Court.
Sources: Federal Judicial Center ; Supreme Court Historical Society ; National Constitution Center
HistoryJohn Kani, the South African actor and playwright later known internationally for "Black Panther," was born in New Brighton, Port Elizabeth.
Sources: Stellenbosch University (ESAT, Encyclopaedia of South African Theatre, Film, Media and Performance) ; South African History Online
Corrected in September 2026 · see what changed
BirthLesotho's Prime Minister Tom Thabane fled to South Africa amid an alleged military coup attempt.
Sources: Deutsche Welle ; ABC News (Australia) ; Al Jazeera
PoliticsGabon's military ousted President Ali Bongo Ondimba shortly after his contested re-election, ending 56 years of Bongo family rule.
Sources: Al Jazeera ; Deutsche Welle ; The Conversation
Politics