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.
G B_NZ, CC BY-SA 2.0, Wikimedia Commons (aircraft of the same type involved) 1977 A Libyan Arab Airlines Tupolev Tu-154A ran out of fuel and made a forced landing near Benghazi, Libya, on a pilgrim flight from Mecca, killing 59 of the 165 people aboard.
Sources: Aviation Safety Network (Flight Safety Foundation) ; Bureau of Aircraft Accidents Archives
Corrected in September 2026 · see what changed
TragedyThe UN General Assembly adopted the Convention for the Suppression of the Traffic in Persons, later the basis for the International Day for the Abolition of Slavery, observed each December 2.
Sources: United Nations Treaty Collection, Office of Legal Affairs ; United Nations ; UNODC (United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime)
Human RightsCetshwayo's uSuthu defeated his half-brother Mbuyazi's iziGqoza at Ndondakusuka on the Thukela, deciding the Zulu succession. Laband puts Cetshwayo's force at 15,000 to 20,000 against about 7,000 for Mbuyazi.
Sources: Jonathan Ball Publishers ; Brill
Battle