The Dutch ship Stavenise runs aground at the Cape of Good Hope (South Africa). Captain William Knyff makes contact with the area’s inhabitants, the Khoikhoi people, and receives from them aid and hospitality.

Having declared war on South Africa’s Bapedi nation and lost, the Transvaal Republic signs a peace agreement. However, the Boer State has suffered so much loss of life and political damage that it is too weakened to resist annexation by Britain, which will happen in April. (Pic: Bapede King Sekhukhune)

Having crossed the Sahara Desert in an airplane, Italian flyers Pinedo, Del Prete, and Zacchetti depart Portuguese Guinea (Guinea-Bissau) in an attempt to cross the Atlantic Ocean. They make it as far as Africa's eastern-most islands, Cabo Verde, where they are forced to land.

A rebellion against British authority in Sierra Leone ends quickly as Haidara Kontorfilli, a traditional doctor and Islamic preacher, and his followers confront troops of the Royal West African Frontier Force sent to arrest him. The British commander is killed, as well as Kontorfilli and four of his followers . Despite his death, Kontorfilli's resistance to the British Hut Tax - which if unpaid requires a Sierra Leonean to submit to forced labour - and his opposition to British rule will continue to spread through the country. (pic: Freetown, 1931)

The Palm Line is established for the fleet of the United African Company, established in 1929, and proves vital to West African economies and exports. To navigate Nigeria’s narrow waterways and sandbars of the West African coastline - 5,000 miles from Morocco to Angola - ships are built narrow and flat (low draughts). (pic: The SS Ilesha Palm navigating the Escravos River to Sapele, Nigeria)

The Lugard Footbridge, a landmark in Kaduna, Nigeria, is declared a national Historic Monument. The 14-metre iron bridge, built in 1904, is an attractive example of period architecture.

The seventh Africa Cup of Nations concludes in Sudan, with the host country winning the championship for the first time. Sudan hosted the first Cup, in 1958.

The first match is played of the new African Women’s Championship, which will later be named the Women’s Africa Cup of Nations. Women’s football teams from eight African nations participate in six matches. Nigeria's team will win the cup on 30 June.

‍

After learning his ancestors came from Côte d’Ivoire, Michael Jackson, the King of Pop, is honoured as the King of the Sanwi on a visit to the country today.

A mass protest called the March of Hope sees several hundred thousand people demonstrating for democracy in Zaire. The march is harshly suppressed by the army of dictator Mobuto Sese Seko, who kill 49 people.

The National Museum of Egyptian Civilisation opens, in Cairo.

Release of the movie The Black Panther, based on the American comic book superhero and set in the fictional African kingdom of Wakanda. The film will become a global megahit, and popularise the concept of Africanfuturism.

The formation of the Basketball Africa League (BAL), Africa’s new top-tier continental professional basketball league, is announced by the U.S. National Basketball Association and the International Basketball Federation. Qualifying rounds will begin this year, with 32 countries participating. The first regular season will be played in 2021.

Having recently set a world record in the 10,000 metres, Joshua Cheptegei, 23, is being hailed as the greatest Ugandan athlete of all time when he sets a new 5km road world record at the Monaco marathon. Cheptegei's time, which breaks all previous records, is 12min/51sec.

Egypt holds its first Space Day, as the Egyptian Space Agency seeks public appreciation for its satellite programme, which is bringing communications coverage to the length of the Nile River Basin (as seen at night in pic).