On this day — September 3 in African history

Public Domain, Wikimedia Commons

Frederick Douglass escaped slavery in Maryland, disguised as a sailor, traveling by train and boat to freedom in New York City.

Public Domain (IMF), Wikimedia Commons

Levy Mwanawasa, who later served as the third president of Zambia and led a notable anti-corruption campaign, was born in Mufulira, Northern Rhodesia.

A rent-increase protest in South Africa's Vaal Triangle townships turned violent, with dozens killed as police clashed with residents, marking the start of a sustained wave of anti-apartheid uprisings.

CC BY 4.0, European Union / Wikimedia Commons

Burundian President Jean-Baptiste Bagaza was deposed in a bloodless coup led by Major Pierre Buyoya while Bagaza was traveling abroad.

Photo by John Wheatley — GFDL 1.2, Wikimedia Commons

Zimbabwe People's Revolutionary Army guerrillas shot down Air Rhodesia Flight 825 with a surface-to-air missile during the Rhodesian Bush War; survivors of the crash were then massacred at the site.