Real events, births and milestones from Africa and the diaspora.
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CC BY 3.0, Wikimedia Commons (portrait believed to depict a knight of the Order of Christ, Vasco da Gama's order) 1497 Vasco da Gama's fleet passed the Great Fish River at the southern tip of Africa, sailing beyond the point where Bartolomeu Dias had previously turned back.
Exploration
Renier Maritz — CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons 1838 Voortrekkers led by Andries Pretorius defeated a large Zulu force at the Battle of Blood River, an event later commemorated as South Africa's Day of Reconciliation.
BattleUmkhonto we Sizwe, the armed wing of South Africa's African National Congress, launched its first coordinated bombings against government targets.
PoliticsGrace Alele-Williams, Nigeria's first female professor and university vice-chancellor, was born.
BirthDeyda Hydara, a Gambian journalist and press-freedom advocate who co-founded the newspaper The Point, was shot dead in Banjul.
Death