Nigeria's first newspaper, Iwe Irohin, founded by missionary Henry Townsend, was first published in Abeokuta.
CultureOn this day — December 3 in African history
Real events, births and milestones from Africa and the diaspora.
We are adding a source to every entry in this archive. 1 of 5 on this page carry one so far. The rest were written before per-entry citations were recorded, so if you intend to rely on one, check it independently until its source appears here. See our sourcing methodology.
IPPA photographer, Dan Hadani Collection, National Library of Israel — CC BY 4.0, Wikimedia Commons At Groote Schuur Hospital in Cape Town, a team led by Dr. Christiaan Barnard performed the world's first human-to-human heart transplant.
Science
Raimund Stehmann — GFDL, Wikimedia Commons (aircraft of the same type involved) 1995 Cameroon Airlines Flight 3701 crashed on approach to Douala International Airport, killing 71 of the 76 people on board.
TragedyA suicide bomber blew himself up at a graduation ceremony for medical students of Benadir University at the Shamo hotel in Mogadishu. At least 22 people were killed by the count reported that day, later put at 25, among them the ministers of health, education and higher education, three journalists and university staff, and more than 60 were wounded. Somalia's information minister said the bomber had worn women's clothing. Al-Shabaab denied any part in it.
Sources: Al Jazeera ; BBC News ; Committee to Protect Journalists ; United Nations Security Council (UN Meetings Coverage, SC/9802, Presidential Statement S/PRST/2009/31)
Tragedy
cfcunofficial (Chelsea Debs), London — CC BY-SA 2.0, Wikimedia Commons 1982 Michael Essien, one of the most decorated Ghanaian footballers of all time and a Chelsea and Real Madrid star, was born in Accra.
Birth