An exchange of notes between British and French diplomats lasting from today until 9 February establishes the boundaries of what will be Djibouti. The area is administered by France. Later this year, the French will choose an uninhabited stretch of coast for the location of a military outpost to protect France's Gulf of Aden shipping to Madagascar and Indochina. In 1896, this will become the capital of French Somaliland, and will be known as Djibouti (city).
British naval forces seeking to drive Italy out of Somalia during World War II mine Mogadishu harbour and bombard the railway station, airfield, petrol storage tanks and other infrastructure.
On her first tour of Africa since becoming Queen Elizabeth II, Britain’s monarch spends 20 days in Nigeria, a British colony. Today at Kaduna Airport, she inspects a regiment given a new name for the occasion: the Queen’s Own Nigeria Regiment, Royal West African Frontier Force.
The premier of the South African musical King Kong, based on the life of boxer Ezekiel “King Kong” Dhlamini, in Johannesburg. The “All-African Jazz Musical” features singing stars Miriam Makeba and Nathan Mdlele.
A bad idea is tried at the Zambezi River waterfall Mosi-oa-Tunya (Victoria Falls), when floodlights are turned on to illuminate the cascade at night. However, the real attraction of the falls is its natural purity and lack of commercialisation, and the lighting will be stopped after a few weeks.
The Sowetan newspaper is founded, in Johannesburg, South Africa. At first suffering from perhaps history’s most misleading newspaper name, the publication will face low readership because of South Africans’ assumption that it contains only news from Johannesburg’s black township Soweto. The newspaper's coverage is in fact national in scope, distributed in and containing news about all provinces. Readership in 2024 will be more than 1.5 million per month.
Benedict Dawson, a school science teacher in rural Mbahe, South Africa who is appreciated for his good character and community service, loses his fight against ignorance and superstition when he refuses to pay a chief’s tax to finance a magic spell against lightning.
At the opening of one of the last remaining parliaments of South Africa’s apartheid regime, President F.W. de Klerk unbans the liberation parties the African National Congress, the Pan African Congress and the South African Communist Party, as well as 33 political organisations including the United Democratic Front.
The Second Battle of N’Djamena is fought when rebels attack Chad’s capital. Initially successful, the rebels will fail to take President Idriss Déby’s palace, and withdraw after three days.
With smart phones becoming a popular means in every African country to connect with social media and on-line services, a thriving sector of the informal economy that began with the introduction of mobile phones in the late 1990s expands its market. (pic taken today in Harare, Zimbabwe)
Moroccan diplomat and senior government official in the late 19th through early 20th centuries, in Oudja, Morocco. Born of a family whose members were government officials from the 16th century onward, he was advisor and Grand Vizier to several Moroccan Sultans. He attended the opening of the Suez Canal in 1869 where he interpreted for France’s Emperor Napoleon II and Empress Eugénie. He retired as Grand Vizier in 1955 and died two years later at the age of 106.
Tunisian labour leader and independence activist, in El Abassia, Tunisia. His effectiveness at opposing French colonial rule led to his assassination by operatives of French foreign intelligence in 1952.
President of Eritrea (1991 to present), in Asmara, British Military Administration in Eritrea. The former freedom fighter’s long administration was labeled by the U.N. in 2015 as totalitarian and an abuser of human rights.
President of Mali (1992-2002), in Kayes, French Sudan. A scientist by profession – archeology and geography – he entered politics with his appointment as Minister of Sports, where he oversaw the establishment of several Malian sports organisations. As Mali’s first democratically-elected President, he worked to stengthen democratic institutions.
Zimbabwe political leader, in Fort Victoria, Rhodesia. Zimbabwe’s youngest Member of Parliament in 2003, with the opposition party Citizens Coalition for Change, he became the country’s youngest cabinet minister with the formation of a Government of National Unity in 2009. He was the MDC Alliance candidate for Zimbabwe’s President in the 2018 general elections.
South African comedian, in Cape Town, South Africa. Africa’s most successful ventriloquist of the 21st Century, he comments satirically on current events through his dummy characters. His most popular is Chester Missing, a large-headed, opinionated racist.
