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211

The reign ends of the only Emperor of the ancient Roman Empire to be born in Africa. Septimius Severus dies of an illness while on a military mission to consolidate Rome’s power in Britain. He previously fortified Rome’s colonies in Africa, strengthening the southern boundaries.

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211

362

Roman Emperor Julian decrees freedom of religion in North Africa and all parts of the Roman Empire. North Africa's Jewish population has faced persecution since the introduction of Christianity in the last century.

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362

1488

Portuguese explorer Bartolomeu Dias leads a small fleet around the Cape of Good Hope. They become the first Europeans to reach Africa’s southernmost tip. The fleet drops anchor in what will be named Mossel Bay.

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1488

1844

The Codex Sinaiticus, a 4th Century book in Greek that is one of the earliest and most complete Bible texts, is discovered in Sinai, Egypt. Written only 300 years after Jesus Christ was alive, the earliest complete text of the New Testament is considered an historic treasure and touchstone for biblical scholarship.

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1844

1898

A rail line from the port city Beira in Portuguese Mozambique reaches the inland town of Umtali (Mutare) in Mashonaland (Zimbabwe). (pic: railway work crews are fed by wild game killed and transported by hunters on hand cars)

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1898

1915

The Maritz Rebellion ends in South Africa with the surrender of the Afrikaner generals who led an armed uprising against South Africa’s British-aligned government.

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1915

1925

Two French aviators, Henri Lemaître and Ludovic Arrachart, set a world distance record flying 3,166 km from Europe to Africa. They departed from Paris on 3 February, and arrived today in Villa Cisneros, Spanish Sahara (Western Sahara).

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1925

1939

South Africa’s far-right Afrikaner organisation Ossewabrandwag (“Ox wagon,” named after the conveyance that transported Afrikaners during the Great Trek of 1835 out of British territory) is formed, with the aim of supporting Nazi Germany against Britain in World War II.

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1939

1952

A Sabena passenger plane experiences mechanical problems over Belgian Congo. The crew loses control of the aircraft, and it crashes near Kikwit, killing all 16 people on board.

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1952

1961

The Nigerian Red Cross Society, established by an Act of Nigeria’s Parliament last year, officially becomes the 86th national society of the League of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies). The first African national society of the Red Cross/Red Crescent was established in 1921, in South Africa.

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1961

1968

After Kenya ceases to issue work permits to non-Kenyans, a mass exodus of Kenyans of Asian descent to the U.K. is underway. Up to 1,500 have arrived by today on chartered flights. This triggers an immigration crisis for the British government. Asians have been forced to close businesses and sell assets as Nairobi pursues an “Africanisation” policy.

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1968

1977

Kenya Airways has its first flight, from Nairobi to Frankfort, Germany and London, England. The flights use two Boeing 707-321 passenger jets that are leased from British Midland Airways.

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1977

2005

The movie Hotel Rwanda is released to critical acclaim. American actor Don Cheadle portrays Rwandan hotel manager Paul Rusesabagina, who is credited with saving the lives of 1,200 Tutsi during the 1994 Rwandan genocide by sheltering them at Kigali’s Hôtel des Mille Collines. Filmed in Kigali and Johannesburg, the movie features South African actors Fana Mokoena, Tony Nkoroge, Desmond Dube and Leleti Khumalo.

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2005

2016

The 10th Biennial U.S.-Africa Business Summit is held in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. 1,400 private sector and government delegates attend.

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2016

Births

1934
Stanislas Spero Adotevi

Beninese politician and UNICEF official, in Cotonou, Upper Volta. After serving as Minister of Information (1963-1964) and Minister of Culture (1965-1968) in Upper Volta (Benin), he became the director of The Institute of Applied Research and then director of the National Archives and Museums. The U.N. children’s organization UNICEF appointed him as representative to Benin, and then UNICEF’s Regional Director for West and Central Africa, overseeing 23 country operations.

1938
Josiah Tongogara

Zimbabwean liberation commander, in Shurugwi, Southern Rhodesia. As leader of the Zimbabwe National Liberation Army from 1973 until his guerilla war beat the white minority government into submission, he took a stance, opposing liberation leader Robert Mugabe, that other black political organisations should share governance with Mugabe’s party. Less than a week after he expressed these views at the Zimbabwe Independence talks in London, he died allegedly in an automobile accident that the intelligence agencies of both Cold War rivals –the Soviet Union and the U.S. – agreed was a staged killing by Mugabe.

1959
Tsitsi Dangerembga

Zimbabwean writer, in Mukoto, Southern Rhodesia. The award-winning author created a sensation with her first novel in 1988, Nervous Condition, the first novel published in English by a black Zimbabwean woman. Its impact was still strong ten years later, when the BBC in 2018 included the work on its list of the 100 Books That Have Shaped the World. Her 2020 novel This Mournable Body was critically acclaimed.

1974
Desmond Elliot

Nigerian actor and one of the first African celebrities to exploit his fame to be elected to public office, in Lagos, Lagos State, Nigeria. After acting in more than 200 popular movies and TV shows, he entered the Lagos State House of Assembly in 2015, even though he was caught on video criticising social media users. The backlash to his criticism created the popular Nigerian pidgin English phrase na Desmond Elliot cause am (“It’s Desmond Elliot’s fault”)