Real events, births and milestones from Africa and the diaspora.
U.S. Central Intelligence Agency — Public Domain, Wikimedia Commons Thomas Sankara, revolutionary President of Burkina Faso, was killed in a coup led by his former ally Blaise Compaoré.
Sources: BBC News ; The Guardian ; Encyclopaedia Britannica
Death
CC BY 2.0, Wikimedia Commons Fela Kuti, Nigerian musician and political activist who pioneered Afrobeat, was born in Abeokuta.
Sources: Encyclopaedia Britannica ; The Nation (Nigeria)
Culture
Photo by Carol M. Highsmith, Library of Congress — Public Domain, Wikimedia Commons 1993 Nelson Mandela and F.W. de Klerk were announced as joint winners of the Nobel Peace Prize for their work ending apartheid.
Sources: Nobel Prize (NobelPrize.org) ; Nelson Mandela Foundation (mandela.gov.za archive)
PoliticsSomali President Abdirashid Ali Shermarke was assassinated by one of his own bodyguards, a killing that led to a military coup six days later.
Sources: Journal of Central and Eastern European African Studies (Óbuda University) ; African Union Library
DeathWillie O'Ree, who became the first Black player in the National Hockey League, was born in New Brunswick, Canada.
Sources: National Hockey League ; CBC News ; HISTORY (A&E Television Networks)
Sports