The Muslim holy day Eid al-Fitr is celebrated for the first time at the newly completed Friday Mosque in Zaria, Hausa Land (Nigeria). The builder is the most famous architect of the Sokoto Caliphate, Babban Gwani, who uses a vaulting system of arched palm-trunks plastered with mud.
An 1,879-nautical mile submarine telegraph cable is laid from Robben Island at Cape Town to St. Helena by the Eastern Telegraph Company.
The tomb of Egyptian Pharaoh Tutankhamen is unearthed by English archeologist Howard Carter. The chambers are completely undisturbed after thousands of years, and provide a treasure of historical information and artifacts. The discovery fuels a global fascination with Egyptology, and a lucrative tourism industry for Egypt.
With only a few seconds of footage filmed in Morocco and the rest in California, the movie Casablanca is released, a Hollywood classic that will be one of cinema’s most popular stories set in Africa.
The first 3D movie is released, Bwana Devil. The critics hate but audiences love the Hollywood imagining of the building of the Ugandan Railway and the hunters who confront two man-eating lions that terrorise the construction.
The first skyscraper in North Africa is completed, in Cairo. The 22-floor apartment building designed by Naoum Shebib, the Father of Modern Egyptian Architecture, is ahead of its time for its energy-conservation feature of having a concrete mesh sheathing the exterior to reduce heat from direct sunlight.
The British Governor of Rhodesia, Humphrey Vicary Gibbs, feeling duty-bound by Britain’s rejection of the Rhodesia’s white minority government’s unilateral declaration of independence, announces that he will stay at his post as “lawful governor of Rhodesia.” Ian Smith’s junta cuts off his phone service and withdraws security and state cars. Gibbs will remain in his office for five more years, until Rhodesia declares itself a Republic in 1970, completely severing its ties with Great Britain.
Mauritania becomes a member of the Arab League. Convening at the League’s Summit in Algiers, Algeria, Africa’s Arab League members now include Algeria, Comoros, Djibouti, Egypt, Libya, Mauritania, Morocco, Somalia, Sudan and Tunisia.
Ghana’s Caroline Esinam Adzogble, at age 29, becomes the youngest known person to establish an internationally accredited college. Potters International College in Accra is aimed at working professionals and students in Information and Communications Technology.
Self-portraits using small digital cameras are creating hazards as people pose recklessly. At the Zambezi River waterfalls Mosi-oa-Tunya (Victoria Falls), a 45 year-old Chinese national falls while taking a picture of himself. He is rescued alive from a gorge, but his story prompts tourism industries throughout Africa to warn against careless “selfies” at dangerous locations and with wild animals.
Kenya's Churchill (Daniel Ndambuki) will soon become the first African comedian to have a road named in his honour. This is promised by the county governor of Machakos, Kenya, who tells Churchill, "What you've done for this country is great."
The 41st Cairo International Film Festival, screening 150 films from 63 countries, mounts a special tribute to Egyptian director Sherif Arafa.
South African gay rights and anti-apartheid activist, in Soweto, South Africa. Believing that gay South Africans cannot find freedom until apartheid ends and all South Africans are liberated, he launched the African continent’s first Pride Parade in 1990, in Johannesburg. South Africa’s first publicly-acknowledged HIV-positive gay African man, he died of AIDS in 1998.
Nigerian singer, in Umuahia, Abia, State, Nigeria. A comedian and brand ambassador, as a music producer he was the founder of Mavin Records. He won awards regularly for his work in the 2000s and 2010s.
Tanzanian singer and songwriter, in Kigoma, Tanzania. A star of Bongo flava music, his debut album and hit single Cinderella was the biggest selling record in East Africa in 2008.
