São Paulo da Assumpção de Loanda (Luanda, Angola) is founded by Portuguese explorer Paulo dias de Novais. One hundred families of settlers and four hundred soldiers make up the population of the new village on Africa’s southwestern coast.

The cornerstone is laid for the first building of Liberia College, financed by two U.S. organisations promoting Liberia: the New York Colonisation Society and the Trustees of Donations for Education in Liberia. Opened in 1862 with seven students, Liberia College, one of the oldest educational institutions in West Africa, will become the University of Liberia, with four campuses and 19,000 students in 2024.

The Natal Railway Company in South Africa has extended its line to Umgeni, where quarried stone can now be transported to Durban harbor. The new transportation link boosts the mineral exports of Natal Colony.

The East London Municipality in South Africa inaugurates an electric tramway system to move people swiftly and efficiency around town.

All South African schools have until to today only taught classes in Dutch or English. Opening today with the name Government Skool, the Potchefstroom-based preparatory school for theological studies becomes the first institution of higher learning to teach in the Afrikaans language.

British troops attempt to disarm rebellious police in Ismailia, Egypt, resulting in the deaths of 50 auxiliary policemen. The killings will spark widespread anti-European rioting in Cairo tomorrow.

The Volta Bridge is opened by President Kwame Nkrumah in Ghana. The steel arch bridge is the first bridge to span the Volta River, and is Ghana’s longest suspension bridge. The graceful arch will be featured on Ghana’s stamps and coins. The name will later be changed to the Adoma Bridge.

The Second All-African People’s Congress opens in Tunis, Tunisia, with calls for the formation of an “international corps of volunteers.” Modeled after a similar corps that fought for the Spanish Republic in 1936, the group is intended to fight for Algerian and Moroccan independence.

At the request of Tanganyika President Julius Nyerere, British commandos put down a mutiny of Tanganyikan soldiers. Following the revolt, Nyerere will dismiss 10% of the country’s 5,000-member police force.

A military coup d’état deposes Milton Obote, Uganda’s Prime Minister since independence in 1962. Idi Amin (pic) steps in as the country’s ruler. He will begin mass killings to maintain his dictatorship.

Kenya's short film drama Watu Wote earns an Academy Award (Oscar) nomination for Best Live Action Short Film. The film is based on the true story of Kenyan Muslims protecting Christians against al-Shabaab killers.

Angola's parliament ends discrimination against people on basis of sexual orientation. The law passed today includes penalties: Refusal to employ or provide services to people based on their sexual orientation can result in two years in prison.

A survey of all Mediterranean Sea ports for 2020 finds the Mediterranean's busiest port is not in a European country like Greece, Italy, Spain or Turkey, but Algeria’s Tangier's port. Tangier handled 47% of Morocco's cargo in 2020, when it moved 81 million tonnes, up 23% from 2019.