Egyptian ruler Queen Cleopatra, commanding 60 ships in partnership with the fleet of her lover Mark Antony, is defeated by the Roman navy led by Marcus Agrippa, as the Battle of Actium concludes in the Abracian Gulf of Greece.

The city of Great Zimbabwe from the Kingdom of Zimbabwe, built in the 11th century, is abandoned ruins when visited today by German explorer Karl Mauch. When he writes about the location, he will popularise the myth that that the city was built as a duplicate of the palace of the Queen of Sheeba in Jerusalem.

The first group of tourists arrive at the Zambezi River in the land of the Litunga people of Southern Africa (Zambia and Zimbabwe) to see the Mosi-oa-Tunya waterfalls (called Victoria Falls by Europeans). They are taken there by George Westbeech, from his trading station (pic) at Panadamantenga, 100 km upriver. He becomes the falls’ first tour guide.

The world’s most advanced warship, the Spanish Navy aviation cruiser the Dédalo, arrives in Morocco to fight the Berber uprising during the Rif War. The ship, the first and only naval craft ever built for use by airplanes, dirigibles and seaplanes, will engage in the battle to capture Ajir on 2 October.

South African Air Force (SAAF) planes and pilots join the Allied invasion of Sicily during World War II, doing pre-landing bombing, photo reconnaissance and air support. After the successful landing, the SAAF squadrons will be stationed in Sicily to participate in the Allies’ capture of Italy.

The potato chip (invented in 1853 by an African-American chef George Speck) arrives in Africa with the introduction of Simba Chips by South Africa’s Greyvenstyn Family Food company. Leon Greyvenstyn has traveled to the U.S. to meet with the leading American potato chip maker Herman Lay to observe the manufacturing process, and to duplicate it in South Africa. Simba chips will eventually come in nine flavours, including those that will be based on local products like Mrs. H.C. Balls chutney sauce, Old Gold tomato sauce and Steers Monkey Glad sauce.

An Air Rhodesia airliner is shot down over Kariba by the Zimbabwe People’s Revolutionary Army using a surface-to-air missile. The crash survivors are found by guerillas, and massacred. The cruelty of the act is considered a turning point that depletes the white minority government’s will to continue the bush war.

The South African film Yesterday is released. The story of an impoverished HIV-positive woman’s devotion to her daughter, directed by Darrell Roodt, will be nominated for the Best International Feature Film Academy Award (Oscar).

For the fifth year in a row, the top selling tractor in South Africa, Africa’s largest agricultural hardware market, is the Massey Ferguson MF440.

Zambian human rights lawyer Nelly Mutti becomes the first woman Speaker of Zambia’s National Assembly.