Egypt’s ruler Al-Ashraf Khalil conquers Acre, the capital of the City of Jerusalem that is controlled by the Knights Templar. After sacking the city, Egyptian forces proceed to expel the last of the European Crusaders from other Syrian locations.
War breaks out in Mashonaland in Southern Rhodesia (Zimbabwe), as followers of spiritual leader Nehanda Nyakasikana attempt to drive white settlers from the country. Having put down a similar rebellion in Matabeleland, British forces are ruthless in their response, using dynamite to destroy caves where Mashona women and children are seeking safety. Nehanda is captured in 1897 (left in pic), and executed in 1898.
British forces comprised mostly of African soldiers outnumber Burundian soldiers who are fighting for Germany during World War I, and capture the German colony Ruanda-Urundi (Rwanda and Burundi).
West African economies are thrown into turmoil as merchant marine ships needed to transport exports are requisitioned for use in World War II by the British government. The United African Company’s general cargo ship SS Guinean is the first of the fleet to begin military service, and today evacuates British soldiers from Saint-Nazaire, France. (pic: British troops on deck of SS Guinean)
As usual when he opens parliament in Cairo, Egypt’s King Farouk I arrives in a magnificent horse-drawn carriage. Tradition is also once more observed when he is accompanied by barefoot royal runners for the event. In recent years, royal runners have been replaced by automobiles for delivering documents.
The first edition is published of Nigerian novelist Chinua Achebe’s debut novel Things Fall Apart, heralding the age of contemporary African authors telling African stories. The landmark novel will be translated into 80 languages.
The British film Zulu, a dramatisation of the January 1879 Battle of Rorke’s Drift during South Africa’s Anglo-Zulu War, is released. The role of Zulu King Cetshwayo is played by the king's own maternal great-grandson, South African politician Mangosuthu Buthelezi.
The opening of Algeria’s Stade du 5 Juillet 1962 (5 July 1962 Stadium), named for the day Algeria declared its independence. The venue will host the African Cup of Nations, the All-African Games, the Mediterranean Games and the Pan Arab Games.
U.S. President Richard Nixon arrives for a State Visit to Egypt to meet with President Anwar Sadat, in Alexandria. Nixon is weeks away from being the first U.S. president to resign from office in disgrace, and is buoyed by the tumultuous welcome Sadat has arranged for him.
Protesting the shooting of hundreds of young black students during yesterday’s Soweto Uprising, 400 white university students march through Johannesburg, joined by black workers. They are beaten by police. Riots break out in black townships nationwide.
At its World Cup debut at the FIFA World Cup in Spain, the Algerian national team earns a stunning 2-1 underdog victory against the reigning European champion West Germany with a goal by Lakhdar Belloumi, who is considered Algeria’s greatest footballer.
Botswana’s U.N. Representatives sends a letter to the U.N. Security Council asking for help against South Africa, whose apartheid government has invaded the country five times since 1981 in raids against members of the anti-apartheid group the African National Congress. Botswana citizens are being killed in the raids.
Akashinga (Shona for “the Brave Ones”), an all-women commando group of anti-poaching rangers, receives international attention with the release today of Akashinga, a documentary about their work in Zimbabwe. The U.S. nature and exploration magazine National Geographic produces the film.
South African labour organiser, in Johannesburg, Union of South Africa. The daughter of the founders of the South African Communist Party, she was banned by the apartheid state in 1950 under the Suppression of Communist Act. She continued to organise sugar, tobacco and transportation workers until her husband, labour official Fred Carneson, was arrested and she was forced into exile.
Ghanaian statesman, journalist and lawyer, in Adjeikrom, Gold Coast. A founding member of the country’s first political party, the United Gold Coast Convention, he was arrested with other independence advocates by British authorities in 1948. Upon Ghana’s independence in 1957, he became the country’s first Minister of Justice and Minister of Foreign Affairs. One of Ghana’s many future leaders he mentored was another of the country’s founding fathers, Kwame Nkrumah, whom he brought into politics.
Third President of Niger (1987-1993), in Ouallam, Niger, French West Africa. A competent military man, he was chosen to run the military government by the ruling military council, and did so until political reforms in the early 1990s resulted in democratic elections. When he left office, it was the first time that Niger witnessed the peaceful transfer of power from an incumbent president to an opposition politician.
