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1795

The British Invasion of Cape Colony (South Africa) ends with the governor of the Dutch colony surrendering when faced with superior British forces.

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1795

1890

Like all days, Congolese slaves today tap into rubber trees at the plantations of the Belgian Congo Free State company owned by Belgian King Leopold II. Belgium’s king, who does not consider Africans as fully human, condones their enslavement to ensure company profits.

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1890

1914

The Maritz Rebellion begins in South Africa. Taking advantage of the withdrawal of British troops from the country to fight Germany in World War I, South African Brigadier-General Christiaan Beyers and Senator General Koos de lar Rey commit treason when they take command of a rebel army to re-fight the Anglo-Boer War lost to the British in 1902.

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1914

1924

Cape Town, South Africa’s first radio station is established, without call letters and named “Cape Town Calling.” The service is provided by the Cape Peninsula Publicity Association.

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1924

1936

The Empire Exhibition opens in Johannesburg, South Africa on the 50th anniversary of the city’s founding in 1886. Spread over 100 acres, the fairgrounds host the pavilions of 18 nations. Several African countries, as well as European and Asian countries and Canada, offer educational and industrial displays. Up to two million people will visit the fair during the four months that it is open.

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1936

1977

Seychelles Airlines is created, out of a merge of two existing airlines, Air Mahé and Inter-Island Airways. In 1978, it will change its name to Air Seychelles, and offer international flights to Frankfort and London in 1983, boosting tourist access to the tropical islands.

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1977

1981

The election in Central African Republic is probably won by Angie-Félix Patassé (pic), but is rigged by incumbent President David Dacko to stay in power. Dacko will be removed by a military coup d’état in six months. Patassé will become president in CAR’s first free and fair election in 1993.

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1981

1985

Mozambique President Samora Machel (pic: centre, dark suit) hosts a one-day summit on the growing militancy against South Africa’s apartheid regime, as indications grow that South Africa’s white minority government is now willing to meet with the liberation party in exile, the African National Congress. Attending are Presidents Quett Masire of Botswana, Kenneth Kaunda of Zambia (centre left), Julius Nyerere of Tanzania (centre right) and Eduardo dos Santos of Angola, Prime Minister Robert Mugabe of Zimbabwe (right, in glasses), and future President of Namibia Sam Nujoma (far left).

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1985

2008

A Government of National Unity is established in Zimbabwe as a means to settle a governance impasse following disputed elections. Heading the government is President Robert Mugabe and his ZANU-PF party, which will soon manage to sideline its governing partner, the opposition party, the Movement for Democratic Change.

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2008

2010

The Bang Bang Club, a Canadian-South African co-production, premiers at the Toronto International Film Festival. The documentary tells the story of the South African photojournalists who risked their lives recording the last days of apartheid.

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2010

2011

Tunisian Anis Bouchnak becomes his country’s last artisan making hand-made pipes. After the deaths of his father and grandfather, who were experts in the craft, he decided to continue the family business.

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2011

Births

1942
Emmerson Mnangagwa

President of Zimbabwe (2017 to present), in Zvishavane, Southern Rhodesia. After the long rule of his fellow liberation fighter Robert Mugabe, he was only the second head of government Zimbabwe has known since its inception in 1980.

1944
Yoweri Museveni

President of Uganda from 1986 to the present, in Rukungiri, British Protectorate of Uganda. His decades in power have made him Africa’s longest ruling head of government.

1972
DJ Fresh (Thato Sikwane)

Motswana disc jockey and producer, in Maseru, Botswana. Working in South Africa, he became a popular on-air radio personality in the 1990s, and released a series of house music compilations.

1977
Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

Nigerian writer, in Enugu, Enugu State, Nigeria. A prominent and critically-acclaimed Anglophone and feminist writer in the short story, essay and novel genres, she has attracted a new generation of readers to African literature.