Sailing south from the Cape of Good Hope in South Africa and looking for new seal populations to hunt, former U.S. Navy Captain Nathaniel Palmer becomes first explorer to sight Antarctica.

Pretoria is founded by Marthinus Pretorius, a leader of the Boer Voortrekkers who are migrating from South Africa’s Cape Colony. He chooses the spot as the new capital of the Zuid Afrikaansche Republiek (South African Republic), and names it after his father, Andries Pretorius.

The global influenza epidemic reaches South Africa with the landings in Cape Town of the ships Jaroslav (on 13 September) and the Veronej (today). Both ships have docked at Sierra Leone, an epicenter of the epidemic in Africa. In Southern Africa, up to two million people will die of the flu epidemic. In some places up to 20% of the population will be killed.

British aviatrix Amy Johnson breaks the U.K. to Cape Town speed record. On her flight she shaves 4 days and 6 hours, 11 minutes off the record set in March by Jim Mollison. Her plane is the same as his: a de Havilland Puss Moth.

The British cruiser HMS Dorsetshire bombards Zante in Italian Somalialand as World War II rages. Within the month, Britain will have control of the East Africa coast, cutting off sea supply routes to Italian and German forces.

The SS Congonian becomes the first West African cargo ship to be sunk in World War II. Owned by the United Africa Company, the ship was taken out of commercial use by the British government to do war service. A German U-boat torpedo sinks the ship off Freetown, Liberia, killing 36 of the crew.

The Italian forces of Benito Mussolini are driven out of Abyssinia (Ethiopia) by Allied armies. Italy has occupied Abyssinia, forcing Emperor Haile Selassie into exile, for five years, after using chemical weapons and other illegal measures during the Second Italo-Ethiopian War.

Morocco King Mohammed V returns from exile in the run-up to national independence from France. His return will be celebrated as Morocco’s official National Independence Day (Fete de l'Independence), rather than the legal date of independence (April 7). The king used his exile to advocate for Moroccan independence, and become the first foreign dignitary to visit the new U.S. theme park Disneyland. (pic: with Walt Disney at Disneyland)

On a state visit to Ghana, formerly the British colony Gold Coast, Britain’s Queen Elizabeth II dances with Ghana’s founding father, President Kwame Nkrumah. The moment is heavy with symbolism for the Commonwealth she heads and to which Ghana belongs, as the passage of power is gracefully acknowledged.

Morocco’s first parliament, elected in May following a constitutional referendum, is opened in Rabat by King Hassan II. He became monarch when his father Mohammed V died in 1961.

The international coordinated response to famine in Ethiopia sees the Soviet Union doing the logistics of delivering wheat to the country that was grown and donated by the U.S.

The Alliance of Democratic Forces for the Liberation of the Congo (AFDL) in its efforts to oust Zaire (Democratic Republic of Congo) dictator Mobutu Sese Seko in the so-called “War of National Liberation,” resorts to mass murder the way Mobutu has done. 500 refugees from Rwanda and war-torn parts of Zaire are executed by the AFDL at the Chimanga refugee camp. This month of November, 2,800 Zairian and Rwandan civilians are executed by APR-AFDL forces in Goma in North Kivu province.

France was never able to defeat Omar Tall, Emperor of West Africa’s Toucouleur Empire who died in 1864. France was finally able to conquer his descendants in Ségou, Mali in 1890. As revenge against Tall, French officers stole his sword and sabre as "spoils of war." Today, France returns both trophies to Senegal.

Bloomberg’s Billionaires Index ranks South African-born Elon Musk as the world’s wealthiest person, with a worth of US$301 billion.