Félix Houphouët-Boigny, who became the first President of Côte d'Ivoire, was born.
Sources: Encyclopaedia Britannica ; Encyclopaedia Africana
Birth
Ceiling of Debre Birhan Selassie church, Gondar, Ethiopia. Photo: Rod Waddington, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons. Licence · Source
On this day: October 18 in African history
Real events, births and milestones from Africa and the diaspora.
Maurice El Mediouni, the Algerian pianist who played a key role in the development of the chaabi and rai styles, was born.
Sources: The Guardian ; Institut Europeen des Musiques Juives
Corrected in September 2026 · see what changed
CultureBoughera El Ouafi, born at Ouled Djellal in Algeria and running for France, won the Olympic marathon at Amsterdam in 1928, coming through over the last five kilometres to finish 26 seconds ahead of Chile's Manuel Plaza. He had placed seventh in the 1924 marathon. He died at Saint-Denis at 61.
Sources: Olympedia ; World Athletics
Corrected in September 2026 · see what changed
Death
CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons 2007 Lucky Dube, South African reggae singer known for his messages against apartheid and violence, was murdered in Johannesburg.
DeathAbdel Rahman Swar al-Dahab, Sudanese general who led a transitional military government in 1985 before voluntarily ceding power to civilians, died.
Sources: Al Jazeera ; Xinhua
Death
Photograph by E. E. Caney, Public Domain, Wikimedia Commons 1913 Dinuzulu kaCetshwayo died in exile on a farm in the Middelburg district of the eastern Transvaal, where the Union government had settled him.
Sources: Jonathan Ball Publishers ; Cambridge University Press
Death