Unknown author — CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons 1934 Italian troops attacked Ethiopian forces at Walwal in the Ogaden, an incident Italy used as a pretext to invade Ethiopia the following year.
PoliticsOn this day — December 5 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 6 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.
Unknown author — CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons 1934 
Carl Van Vechten, Library of Congress — Public Domain, Wikimedia Commons 1935 Mary McLeod Bethune founded the National Council of Negro Women in New York City to advance the rights of Black women.
Culture
Kingkongphoto & www.celebrity-photos.com — CC BY-SA 2.0, Wikimedia Commons 2013 Nelson Mandela died at his home in Houghton, Johannesburg, at 95, after a long respiratory illness. President Jacob Zuma announced it on television that night. South Africa held ten days of national mourning and buried him at Qunu on 15 December.
DeathRobert Sobukwe, South African Pan-Africanist leader who founded the Pan Africanist Congress, was born in Graaff-Reinet.
Birth
Scipio Moorhead, Library of Congress — Public Domain, Wikimedia Commons 1784 Phillis Wheatley, who was born in West Africa and enslaved as a child before becoming a celebrated American poet, died in Boston.
Death
Public Domain, Wikimedia Commons 1977 Egypt broke diplomatic relations with Syria, Libya, Algeria, Iraq and South Yemen after President Anwar Sadat pursued separate negotiations with Israel.
Politics