As it had done when the Portuguese took control of Mombasa, the Imamate (Empire) of Oman returns to remove the British colonial authorities that have run Mombasa for two years.

After Liberians vote for independence in a referendum, Liberia is declared an independent state by delegates at the Liberian Constitutional Convention. The first African country in the modern era to become independent, Liberia will retained its territory and government from this day forward.

Die Burger, an Afrikaans-language newspaper, publishes its first edition, in Cape Town, in Dutch under the name De Burger. Future Prime Minister under South Africa’s apartheid government, D.F. Malan, is editor. The newspaper will be the official mouthpiece of the apartheid National Party until 1990.

Amy Ashwood Garvey (pic: left), wife of black nationalist and Pan-Africanist Marcus Garvey, and Kwame Nkrumah (pic: right), a founding father and future president of Ghana, are among the executive of the new International African Friends of Abyssinia attending a rally in Trafalgar Square, London, to aid Ethiopia against the Italian invasion of the country. In one of the first Pan-African actions, the organisation urges all Africans and members of the African Diaspora to assist Ethiopia.

South African Florence Matomela becomes the first woman among thousands arrested in the non-violent “Defiance Campaign” as she protests against the apartheid injustice of requiring black South Africans to carry government passes to travel in their own country.

Egypt’s President Gamal Nasser nationalises the Suez Canal as a means to finance the Aswan Dam after Britain and the U.S. renege on their pledge to finance the dam. The Suez Crisis begins, which will lead to the Second Arab-Israeli War. Britain and France were financial stakeholders of the canal, and they conspire to invade Egypt and seize the canal. They will fail, and historians will record that the crisis “signified the end of Great Britain’s role as one of the world’s major powers.”

Release of film Ceddo, considered a masterpiece by Senegalese director Ousmane Sembène. The film is banned in Senegal and many countries for its message that Africans were better off with their indigenous beliefs than Christianity and Islam. Manu Dibango's musical score mixes traditional instruments with modern jazz.

A rare snowfall startles residents of Bloemfontein, South Africa. Fantasy writer J.R.R. Tolkien, who was born there, once recalled his earliest childhood memories being of “a hot place.”

Chairman of the African Union, Bingu wa Mutharika, having achieved advances in food security as President of Malawi, earns international praise when he makes food production an AU priority with the African Union Food Basket initiative, but also international criticism when he condemns the International Criminal Court and human rights groups’ efforts to bring accountability to African dictators.

Kicking off a new beginning for Liberia after a brutal civil war, Liberian President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf proclaims that today will now be observed as National Independence Day.

The South African political party the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) is formed, splitting from the African National Congress and following a Marxist-Leninist philosophy. Founder Julius Malema is EFF President.

The sleek, futuristic Salah Bey Viaduct, named after the governor of Constantine, Algeria (1771-1792), is dedicated. The structure is hailed as “The 8th Wonder of Constantine,” a city that has seven other bridges.