On this day — October 18 in African history

Félix Houphouët-Boigny, who became the first President of Côte d'Ivoire, was born.

Sources: Encyclopaedia Britannica ; Encyclopaedia Africana

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

Boughera 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

CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons

Lucky Dube, South African reggae singer known for his messages against apartheid and violence, was murdered in Johannesburg.

Sources: BBC News ; NPR

Abdel 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