Displeased by the influence in Roman Egypt of Christian Church leader Athanasius I (pic), Emperor Julian exiles him from his home in Alexandria. This is Athanasius’ fourth exile under four different Roman Emperors. His followers gather to protest his expulsion, but he calms the mob and, as he had done during each exile, he travels to Upper Egypt to live the life of a lowly monk.

Blantyre, the future capital of Malawi, is established, as a Church of Scotland mission. The site is chosen by Henry Henderson in a hilly area of the Shire Highlands.

The last of the Nyasaland (Malawi) independent peoples, the Maseko Ngoni Kingdom, is attacked by British forces after the Ngoni leader Gomani, resisting British control of the area, ordered his people not to pay British taxes or work for white employers. The British army destroys the Ngoni defenses, and captures Gomani. (pic: Ngoni elders, 19th Century)

A French colonial decree establishes land usage in French West Africa, an area consisting of Mauritania, Senegal, French Sudan (Mali), French Guinea, Côte d'Ivoire, Upper Volta (Burkina Faso), Dahomey (Benin) and Niger. France seeks to impose an ownership system to make private property out of the lands of West Africans. To justify colonisation, European propaganda perpetuates the theme that Africans are being blessed with the benefits of civilisation. (pic: French post card reads: "French West Africa. Entertainment among primitive peoples.")

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Liberia’s justice system’s handling of indigenous people is displayed in a trial that is held at Executive House. The judge is Liberian President Charles King (pic). The King of the Wedabo represents his people against murder charges for the killing of three Poo People. King Jeh freely admits the killings. He argues they were in retaliation for the Poo’s alleged killing of seven Wedabo. President King orders the Wedabo to produce the killers, and rules that King Jeh and two other chiefs are to be held indefinitely to ensure the cycle of killings stop. The Wedabo must also pay a fine of £3,000 (£224,915 in 2023).

The National Liberation Front is formed in Algiers as a nationalist party to achieve independence from France. Its armed wing, the National Liberation Army, will soon be formed to fight the Algerian War of Independence. The NLF will achieve victory in 1962.

A BBC documentary alerts the world to “a famine of Biblical proportions” in Ethiopia. Record low rainfall that started in 1983 and will continue through 1985 has resulted in eight million famine victims and 1.2 million famine deaths. The policies of Ethiopia’s dictator Mengistu Mariam worsen the humanitarian crisis.

India takes a first cautious step toward restoring diplomatic relations with South Africa, which it severed in 1948 when the apartheid government took power and put in place discriminatory measures against Indians. New Delhi announces it will open a cultural centre in South Africa that will also perform consular functions. (pic: anti-apartheid leader Nelson Mandela greets the Indian National cricket team in South Africa)

Ismail Mahomed, who as a young lawyer during the apartheid era of racial separation was banned from joining the Pretoria Bar Association because of his race, is appointed by President Nelson Mandela as South Africa’s first non-white Chief Justice.

The First Libyan Civil War ends three days after the capture and killing of Libya’s ruler since 1969, Colonel Muammar Gaddafi. A National Transitional Council declares “the liberation of Libya.”

Ivorian football great Yaya Touré is subjected to racist abuse from Russian fans while playing in Russia, a year after receiving racist abuse while playing in Portugal. The attacks on him highlight the challenges faced by star African players in Europe.

The Kober Bridge opens in Sudan, spanning the Blue Nile River and linking Khartoum with the industrial city Khartoum North.

After six years of conflict, the Second Libyan Civil War ends with the declaration of a permanent ceasefire between the Government of National Accord and rebel groups.

Sudan becomes the third African country to establish diplomatic ties with Israel as part of the U.S.-brokered Abraham Accords. As a reward, the U.S. drops sanctions against Sudan for the Bashir regime’s sponsorship of terrorist groups.