As a first step toward France's colonial rule of West Africa, Gabon is made an "Administrative Area" within the French settlements of the Gold Coast (Ghana) and Gabon. The Nkonde people of the area are achieving artistic triumphs with nightmarish, nail-studded fetishes intended to scare away evil spirits and protect households and communities.
The Berlin Conference concludes with 13 European powers and the U.S. agreeing on the division of the African continent and the subjugation of the African people within spheres of influence, controlled by European nations. The treaty establishes the legal foundation for the “Scramble for Africa.”
The first edition of the German language colonial newspaper Deutsch-Ostafrikanische Zeitung is published in Dar es Salaam, German East African. Opposing the colonial government’s respectful policies toward Africans, the newspaper reflects the views of German settlers, who wish to impose German agriculture on the country. The newspaper will openly advocated for the extermination of the Maasai people.
The trains in Sierra Leone move again as British troops suppress a railway strike that has gained national support. When rioting erupted in Freetown, the strike was seen by authorities as an attack on British rule, and they called in the army.
The air races called the "International Circuit of the Oases" end at Cairo, Egypt’s Almaza Airport. More than 40 flyers compete in a speed race, and others fly in the 2097-km handicap race. In addition to Egyptian flyers, aviators and their airplanes have flown in from Austria, Belgium, Czechoslovakia, France, Germany, Great Britain, Italy, Poland and Romania.
Gamal Abdel Nasser becomes Egypt’s undisputed leader he puts under house arrest Mohamed Naguib, who was forced to resign under pressure from the Revolutionary Command Council. The council appoints Nasser as Prime Minister.
Kenyan Julius Ongewe becomes the first African in space – in the movies – with the release of Silent Star, an East German-Polish co-production. A medical student studying in Leipzig, East Germany, Ongewe was spotted by the film’s producer. He will never act again, saying he is more valuable to his country as a doctor than an actor. The technician he plays in the film is portrayed as a co-equal with other crewmembers on a space mission to Venus.
The forced eviction of Angolans from Luanda's informal settlements without resettlement plans is criticised by international human rights groups. Angolans displaced by civil war now make up a majority of the capital city’s residents. Luanda had 500,000 residents in 1975 at the start of the Angolan Civil War, and more than 10 million by 2011 - seven million of them living in slum-like informal settlements called musseques.
A hot air tourist balloon catches fire over Luxor, Egypt, and crashes, killing 19 of 21 people on board.
Release of the video This is Not My Real Face Oh. Going viral on social media, the video makes a global social media star of six-year-old Nigerian comedienne Emmanuella.
A rare Annular Eclipse of the sun is visible over Angola. The moon covers only the centre of the sun, creating a solar ring of fire.
The Democratic Republic of Congo is hit by its first locust plague since 1944. The East African countries of Ethiopia, Kenya, Somalia, South Sudan and Uganda have been devastated by locusts for weeks. The insects have arrived at harvest time and are threatening the region’s food security.
Liberia’s president (1871-1872), in Charleston, South Carolina, U.S. Arriving in West Africa as an immigrant with the American Colonization Society, he rose in politics to become Liberia’s vice president. He assumed the presidency when President Edward Roye was removed in Africa’s first modern coup d’état, and became Liberia’s shortest-serving president when his term expired after two months.
Egyptian musical composer, in Cairo, Egypt. He wrote the music for several Egyptian musical theatre productions and performers, and is most notable for composing Africa’s first opera, Shamshoon and Delilah.
Senegalese historian and politician, in Kaffrine, French West Africa. An Associate Professor at the University of Dakar, in his capacity as a union leader, he was imprisoned by Senegalese autocrat Léopold Sédar Senghor for attempting to unionise the country’s academics and intellectuals. He then served as Minister of National Education under President Abdou Diouf from 1983 to 1988. He also Secretary General of the Pan-African Association of Historians.
Senegalese wrestler, in Joal, Senegal. Trained in Senegal’s traditional Mbapatte, he was among the pioneers in a hybrid boxing-wrestling style when the sport turned professional in the 1990s. From then until 2012, he ruled as Senegalese wrestling’s most successful and popular champion.
Togo’s best footballer, in Lomé, Togo. Although qualified to play for Nigeria because his parents are Nigerian, he represented the country of his birth and upbringing on Togo’s national teams at the Africa Cup of Nations and the FIFA World Cup. Professionally, he was an international star as a striker for the English clubs Arsenal, Crystal Palace, Manchester City and Tottenham Hotspur, as well as the Spanish team Real Madrid and clubs in France, Monaco, Paraguay and Turkey.
