In a letter, King Eyamba V of Calabar (Nigeria) proposes marriage to Britain’s Queen Victoria. He has received a letter from her urging that his kingdom cease trading in slaves and instead cultivate spices and agricultural products. She wrote that England would buy these products, while also offering military protection to his country. His translator mistakenly read “Queen of England” beneath her signature as “Queen of All White People.” In his letter of reply, Eyamba describes himself as “King of All Black People,” and says their marriage would allow them to rule the world. He orders a second throne built, and commands his court to wear imitation English clothes. Queen Victoria will respond by writing that her interest is strictly in trade relations.

19 year-old South African Reggie Walker is the first African to win a medal at an Olympic Games, the Gold Medal in the 100 metres, at the London Olympics. No black athletes are allowed on the South African team. Walker will remain the youngest person to win the 100 metres at an Olympics.

For the first time, automobiles may drive across the Zambezi River, between Northern and Southern Rhodesia (Zambia and Zimbabwe), on the new auto access road on the top deck of the refurbished Victoria Bridge at the Mosi-oa-Tunya waterfall (what the English have been calling Victoria Falls). The first car to cross is driven by the structural engineer of the bridge rehabilitation project. Traffic is so light that an hour passes before a second car uses the bridge.

Sudan Airways begins operations with its first scheduled flights from its hub in Khartoum. All routes are within Sudan but for one flight to Eritrea.

On the second day of the Egyptian-Libyan War, the Egyptian Air Force makes a full-scale attack on El Adem, a principal base for the Libyan Arab Republic Air Force. Among those killed on the ground are three military advisors from the Soviet Union.

Yahya Jammeh leads a military coup d’état in Burkina Faso, and installs himself as the country’s ruler. His dictatorship will end in 2017 when he is removed by Senegalese troops.

In power since 1999, ailing, unable to walk and rarely seen in public, Algeria's autocrat Abdelaziz Bouteflika, age 81, announces he will remain in office for a 5th term.

Zimbabwe’s cash-strapped government announces it will sell ZimParks, which manages game and nature reserves and other public parks that make up 13% of Zimbabwe’s land mass. The parks have run up US$22 million in debt.

According to a survey by Credit Suisse, 41% of Kigali, Rwanda businesses are owned by women. The global average for businesses owned by women in any urban area is 10% to 20%.

The official World Golf Ranking puts South Africa’s Louis Oosthuizen among the world’s top golfers. His top ranking of #4 was achieved in 2013 when he was 21 years-old. Although only 150,000 South Africans play golf out of a population of 60 million people, the country has historically produced so many champion golfers that one out of 10 of the world's top golfers have been from South Africa.