The Bombardment of Acre, Egypt by the Mediterranean Fleet of Austrian, British and Turkish forces during the Egypt-Ottoman War begins at 2 p.m. At 4 p.m., the city’s ammunition depot is hit, and 1,100 Egyptian soldiers are killed in the explosion. Within hours the Egyptian guns cease firing at the naval fleet, which has lost only 18 sailors. Egyptian ruler Mohammed Ali suffers a devastating defeat.

British soldiers from Fort Jameson in Northern Rhodesia (Zambia) arrive to provide backup for Catholic missionary Joseph Dupont, who is in the unusual position of being Acting Chief of the Bembe people. Seeking to avoid civil war among the Bembe, Dupont is negotiating with 33 sub-chiefs to choose a successor to the deceased Chief Mwamba. He has been appointed Acting Chief by the Bembe council of elders because of his knowledge of their culture and language and his sincere interest in their welfare. Dupont was the first white missionary permitted in the Bembe kingdom.

Visitors to Salisbury (Harare), Southern Rhodesia (Zimbabwe) may now stay at a world-class hotel with the completion of the Meikles Hotel. An imposing stone tower centered in the large building completely surrounded with balconies to shade against the sun makes the new landmark visible from a distance. The hotel will be the capital’s primary venue for business and political meetings.

Britain’s Imperial Airways launches a 35-day Winter Holiday Air Cruise. For £435 (equal to £29,118 in 2022) per person, the tour from France flies across the Mediterranean to Morocco, Tunisia and Libya. A sample of the itinerary: “An air journey of 550 miles from Marrakech to Oran via Fez, luncheon being served in the air. At Oran an excellent dinner may be anticipated at the Grand Hotel.”

During the Suez Crisis, the French Air Force joins the fighting by bombing the Egyptian Air Force aerodrome in Cairo. Britain has inflicted extensive damage on Egypt’s air force in the past two days. (pic: British RAF aircraft at their base in Cyprus)

Two days after a politically-motivated attack on a Hutu chief by Tutsi youth in Ruanda-Urundi (Rwanda and Burundi), a protest by Hutu escalates into the murder of two Tutsi officials and full-scale rioting. As the Rwandan Revolution spreads, the country’s Tutsi leadership plans unilateral independence. They are appeased by Belgian colonial officials who have previously favoured the Tutsi but are now amending their policies to allow the Hutu greater participation in the economy and governance.

South African troops sent by the apartheid government with U.S. approval attack the rebel camp of the People’s Armed Forces of Liberation of Angola, supported by the Soviet Union and armed by Cuba. When Cuba’s Fidel Castrol learns South African soldiers are directly attacking Cuban advisors, he increases military aid.

A rare hybrid eclipse of the sun is visible in an arc from Gabon through the Republic of Congo, the Democratic Republic of Congo and Uganda to Kenya and Ethiopia.

Nigeria’s first locally-made peanut butter hits the country’s store shelves. Nutzy Peanut Butter hopes to give local groundnut farmers, who export their product raw, a new market.

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Senegal's Mohamed Mbougar Sarr becomes the first black author in 100 years and the first writer from sub-Saharan Africa to win the Prix Goncourt, France’s oldest and most prestigious literary prize. Sarr is awarded for his novel The Most Secret Memory of Men.

Malawi’s Overstone Kondowe is sworn in as first person with albinism to be Member of Parliament. The country has seen an increase in the murders of people with albinism for ritual purposes.