Farouk I declares himself descendant of Prophet Muhammad

1906, A clash between Zulu warriors and British forces under Colonel Duncan McKenzie during the Bambatha rebellion leaves about 60 Zulus dead. The rebellion was as a result of a British colonial decision to increase its levy on the locals in order to put economic pressure on them.



1951, A 31 year old King Farouk of Egypt marries 17 year old Narriman Sadek. Sadek was the daughter of an Egyptian government official but was not from the royal family. She later bore the king his only son and heir, Ahmed Fuad (Fuad II), who would only occupy the throne for one year during his infancy following the military takeover of the country and the abolition of the monarchy in favour of a republic. She divorced the king after two years in exile due to his numerous extra marital affairs.

1952, Barely two months before his abdication which was forced on him by the military, Farouk I declares himself the direct descendent of Prophet Muhammad. He had previously declared himself the spiritual leader of all Muslims in the world.

1978, During the Namibian war of independence, the US severely criticizes South Africa, for allowing the SADF (South African Defense Force) to cross into Angola to engage in battle with the SWAPO (South West Africa People's Organization).

1981, Libyans are asked to leave the US, following a diplomatic row between Muamar Al Ghaddafi and the Ronald Reagan administration.

Emperor Haile Selassie enters Ethiopia after five years in exile

1865, African American politician Adam Clayton Powell Sr., was born on this day. Powwel was the first African American to be elected as a Congressman to represent New York; he was also the house representative for Harlem, New York in the US House of Representative.

1925,The Riff rebels led by Abdel Krim (Muhammad Ibn 'Abd al-Karim al-Khattabi) engage in a fierce fight with French forces who were helping Spanish troops to quell the Moroccan rebellion against Spanish rule.

1936, Marshall Pietro Badoglio marches onto Addis Ababa following Italian defeat of Ethiopian troops at the battle of Ogaden a month earlier. Italy was accused of using illegal weapons including mustard bombs during the war.

1941, Emperor Haile Selassie leads an army of Ethiopian forces into Um Iddla, an Ethiopian village after being helped by Britain’s “Gideon Force” led by Colonel Orde Wingate to defeat Italian forces during the East Africa Campaign of WWII.


1953, Egyptian revolutionary forces abolish the 5,000 year monarchy in Egypt after taken control of the country from deposed king Farouk I.

1957, British actor, Author and Screen writer Richard E. Grant was born on this day in Mbabane, Swaziland. Grant’s father was an Afrikaner and his mother was a South African ballet teacher.

1988, Reverend Eugene Antonio Marino was named as the Roman Catholic Archbishop of Atlanta, Georgia. In this position, he became the first ever African American to be appointed by the Catholic Church as an Archbishop in the US.

The Freedom riders

1942, British and Allied forces take over Madagascar from the grips of Japanese and Vichy-French forces. The port of Madagascar was seen as a highly strategic point. Japan had the longest range submarines in those days, so it was considered a potential dangerous to allow her to continue to occupy Madagascar, as it had the capability of disrupting the Allied communication lines of Australia, the pacific and the Middle East regions. It took a little over three weeks before the final defeat of the Axis forces on Madagascan soil.



1961, the freedom riders initiate their protest against racial segregation on interstate buses in southern US. The group defied all the violence and threats in order to carry on with their ride which ended with a massive rally in New Orleans, Louisiana.



1978, South African Police engage in a firefight South West Africa People's Organisation (SWAPO) guerrilla fighters, who had their bases in neighbouring Zambia and Angola in what was known at the Namibian war of independence. The war started as a result of Namibian discontent with South African occupation. The nation which was known as South Western Africa was occupied by South African forces after the defeat of Germany in WWI.

1984, During a mass by Pope John Paul II in Kinshasa, Zaire (D.R.Congo), more than half a dozen people are trampled to death by accident.

Italian dictator orders the settlement of Ethiopia

1900, General Lord Roberts (Robert of Kandahar) launches his “March on Pretoria” assault on the capital of the Transvaal state in South Africa during the second Boer war. Roberts who was on his second mission in South Africa He gained the accolade ”Robert of Kandahar” after his military successes in Kandahar during the British occupation of Afghanistan in the 19th century.

1933, African American singer, song writer, dancer and band leader James Joseph Brown, Jr. was born on this day at Barnwell, North Carolina. Brown was known throughout the world as the godfather of soul music.



1936, Italian dictator Benito Mussolini plans a massive settlement in conquered Ethiopia by declaring that about 400,000 Italians will be permitted to inhabit the new colony. His overall intention was however thwarted due to the international hostility he encountered by invading Ethiopia, a fellow League of Nations (predecessor to the UN) member.

1953, the seven year Mau Mau rebellion against British occupation in Kenya, enters its second year with the murders of 19 fellow Africans who the rebels accused of collaborating with the white colonialists.

1964, African American actor and TV director Frederick O'Neal becomes the first Black man to be elected as the president of the Actors Equity Association. O’Neal was also the founder of the Negro Theater in 1940.

1978, Ernest Nathan "Dutch" Morial became the first black mayor of New Orleans after winning being elected by popular vote, he was in office from 1978-1986. His son also served as mayor of the city from 1994-2002

1993, after a general referendum on independence, Eritrea is formally recognized as an independent nation on this day. In the years following independence Eritrea had engaged in a bitter cross border war with Ethiopia which only ended with a truce in 2000.

2nd May, Inventor Elijah McCoy was born 1844

1844, African Canadian engineer and inventor Elijah McCoy, was born on this day. McCoy later invented and obtained US patent number 129,843, for his automatic lubricator for oiling steam engines for boats and locomotives.

1920, Indianapolis ABC became the first black baseball team to win a league game after beating the Chicago Giants in the first ever national Negro league game.

1936, the Wafd party(Delegates Party), a nationalist party that had held influence in Egypt and played an important role in the withdrawal of Britain from Egypt, win about 90% of the free seats available in the parliamentary Elections. The party which was largely influenced by the ideas of Colonel Ahmed Urabi, an Egyptian army officer who later revolted against British rule in Egypt, was dissolved during the Egyptian revolution.

1939, three years after ascending the Egyptian throne on the death of his father, the 19 year old King Farouk I declares himself the spiritual leader of Islam .


1980, Pope John Paul II(born: Karol Józef Wojtyła) begun his tour of Africa in a bid to preach the message of peace and love throughout the continent. He was the second Pope after Pope Paul VI, to ever visit Africa.



1994, Results from the first ever multiracial elections in South Africa puts Nelson Mandela of the ANC (African National Congress)far ahead of all the other contestant.

1st May Howard University admits its first student in 1867

1905,During the height of European concern about the attrocities committed by men under the authority of Leopold II in the Congo free state, France supports Britains intention of invading the territory if the crimes continued. This threat as well as popular disconctent forced the Belgian parliament to take control of the Congo from Leopold II.



1915,Britain gives the Union of Souh Africa, the green light to occupy the German South West Africa(Namibia)during the the WWI.

1867,Howard University, one of the first Universities established for the purpse of educating African Americans, admit its first four student. Ironically these students happened to be whites and they were daughters of the founding fathers of the university. In the years that followed, up until now Howard University holds the distinction of producing the highest number of graduates of
African Amrican descent with advanced Degrees.

1950, African American writer and poet Gwendolyn Brooks becomes the first African American to win a Pultizer price for her book poetry entitled, Annie Allen.

Britain tried to defeat Somali nationalist leader

Hi guys, due to circumstances beyond my control, I couldn’t post yesterday, so I hope include what i intended to post, to today's posting and I hope you guys will forgive me for that. I will try not to let such a thing happen again in future.

28th April

1902, the 20 year old war between Nationalist leader Mohammed Abd’Allah Hassan and Britain over the control of Somalia rages on as Britain sends reinforcements against him.

1912, France appoint the first Resident-General , Louis Hubert Gonzalve Lyautey to occupy morocco, at a time of great security fears for foreign citizens due to the recent murders of French Citizens. Lyautey will later command French forces in the Spanish/French war against guerrilla leader Muhammad Ibn 'Abd al-Karim al-Khattabi (Abd el-Krim), before losing his place to Henri Philippe Petain in 1925.

1936, King Farouk ascends to the throne of Egypt and the Sudan after the death of his Father Fuad I, however,16 year old Farouk will effectively be the last king to be crowned in Egypt. In 1952, he abdicated the throne in favour of his one year old son Fuad II, but the monarchy was abolished a year later, Fuad II, unable to be crowned as he was still an infant.


29TH April

1899, Duke Ellington (Edward Kennady Ellington), the African-American composer and band leader, was born on this day.



1958, after the 1956-1957 Suez crisis, Egypt agrees to pay approximately 81 million dollars, in order to take control of the Canal.

Dr Vincent Porter became the first African-American to be a certified plastic surgeon

1910,The nationalist United South African party was formed by PW Botha and other south Africans who favoured British imperialism, even though they advocated for freedom for the Africakaner people. The SAP ruled the country until they were replaced by the National Party in 1924. The national party was formed by right wing Afrikaners.

1945, African American Playwright August Wilson was born on this day.

1955, During the height of the Suez crisis, Egyptian president, Gamal Abdel Nasser vows to nationalize a lot of companies and also made announcement of its intention of establishing trade links with communist China by selling cotton to them.

1958, after quelling a military campaign by pro independent armed group in Morocco with the help of France, Spain cedes the western Saharan territory of Tarfarya to Morocco under the leadership of King Mohammed V.

1960, The Republic of Togo is granted independence by France. Togo was made a German colony in 1854 at the treaty signed between Germany and King Mlapa. However it was divided between Britain and France, after German defeat in WWII. The British part of Togoland voted in a plebiscite to join newly independent Ghana whiles the French part fought for its independence from France.


After being a British colony since 1787, Sierra Leone became independent in 1961.

1968, Dr Vincent Porter became the first African-American to be a certified plastic surgeon.


1972, Osagyefo Dr. Kwame Nkrumah, first president of Ghana and the first Black African to lead a free nation, died whiles in exile in Guinea Conakry at the age of 63. Nkrumah was earlier deposed in an alleged CIA backed coup by members of the military and police.

1984, 30 Libyan diplomats had their diplomatic immunity withdrawn and were expelled from Britain, after more than a week since the shooting to death of police woman Yvonne Fletcher in front of the Libyan embassy building in London.

1991, the wife of imprisoned freedom fighter Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela, Mrs. Winnie Madikizela-Mandela tried unsuccessfully to win the seat for the president of the ANC women’s wing.

1993, In a UN backed referendum, Eritreans voted massively to gain independence from Ethiopia. Before WWII the country was an Italian colony, but was allowed to be annexed by Ethiopia, however decades of political unrests prompted the UN to organized the referendum, which gave power to the People’s Frond for Democracy and Justice (PFDJ) to power.

1994, Elections are held all over South Africa, and for the first time all ethnicities were allowed to take part.

26th April Sarah Boone patents an improvement to the Ironing board

African-American blues singer Gertrude Pidgett (Ma" Rainey) was born on this day in 1886. She was one of the earliest recorded artistes in the blues category.

1892 - Sarah Boone patents an improvement to the ironing board for which she received US patent number 473,653.


1941Dessie, a fortress city which was founded by Emperor Yohannes IV in 1882 and which came under Italian forces during WWII is captured by British General Alan Cunningham and his South African division..

1941,Having defeated the Allied forces at the Halfaya Pass the previous day, General Rommel orders three columns of his Deutsches Afrika Korps (German Africa Corps) to move to Egypt, in a bit to contain reinforcement to the Allied forces.

1943,In the Tunisia Campaign during WWII, Allied forces win a major advantage after they captured “Lonstop Hill”, a strategic point which gave them access to the Tunisian plains. This in turn enabled them to attack the axis forces from the rear.

1961,French Army rebels’ attempted coup d’état led by four army general, are defeated after few people supported their intention. The four generals; Maurice Challes(former Commander-in-Chief of the French Army in Algeria) Edmond Jouhaud (inspector General of the air force) Andre Zeller(Chief of Staff of the French ground forces) and Raoul Salan(also a former Commander-In-Chief) in Algeria.

25th April

1917, American Jazz musician and popular vocalist Ella Jane Fitzgerald, was born on this day.

1945, during the latter part of WWII, General Erwin Eugen Rommel, who was known as the desert fox, for his high level of skill in desert war fare, mounted an attack on British soldiers, which forced them to retreat from the Halfaya pass in Egypt. Rommel was later made to commit suicide, when he was implicated in a conspiracy to overthrown Hitler's government. The decision was a face saving one for Rommel, due to his extraordinary service he performed as soldier,instead of being tried and executed for treason.



1961,France tests a nuclear bomb for the fourth time in the Sahara. At the time of the testing, France was desperate in its efforts at playing the leadership role in Europe and to establish it super power credentials, however events such the formation of North Atlantic Treaty Organization(NATO) and the loss of Algeria as a colony, weakened her pursuit.

1994, The final day of Apartheid in South Africa. However a series of car bombs by suspected members of the Afrikaner Weerstandsbeweging(Afrikaner Resistance Movement)(AWB), threaten to throw the country into chaos. The AWB and its members led by Eugene Terr'Blanche were very outspoken in their opposition to the end of Apartheid, they advocated for separation of people according to skin colour and also preached white supremacy.

Oliver Tambo's death

1944 The United Negro College Fund(UNCF) a fund that was set up up to helped needy but brilliant African-American students to be able to attend college was incorporated.
The fund has grown since then, to its current stage where it supports more than 65,000 students who are attending about 900 universities, with a sum of more than 113 million dollars.

1979 Abel Tendekayi Muzorowa wins the majority of votes to become the first and only prime minister of Zimbabwe Rhodesia.Muzorowa, a Methodist preacher, won 51 of the 72 seats that was reserved for blacks, however the government collapse the same year he took office in favour a new general election which the ZANU(Zimbabwe African National Union) led by Robert Mugabe came into power. His government was not recognized internationally and severe sanctions which was still in place due to Ian Smith's near apartheid rule, forced him to accept a mediation by Britain which resulted in the calling of the 1980 elections.



1993, Death of freedom fighter and co founder of the ANC youth wing Oliver Reginald Tambo.He had just returned from a 30 year exile in Britain to become the national chairperson of the ANC in 1991.His death at 75, was as a result complications due t
to stroke. Tambo, Mandela, Anton Lembede and Walter Sisulu were the co founders of the ANC youth wing.

23rd April, Granville T. Woods

1856, Granville Woods was born on this day. Wood s was an inventor who held about 60 patents during his life time. Most of his inventions were related to the locomotive industry. He also invented the multiplex telegraph, which enabled a moving train to communicate with the nearest station.



1895, Clatonia Joaquin Dorticus, an African-American of Cuba origins, patents the photographic print wash. This was an improvement on the method of creating photographic negatives for printing.

1903, Somali nationalist leader Sayyid Muhammad Abd’Allah Hassan who engaged in over 20 year old struggle against British imperialist forces, suffers one of his greatest losses at the hands of British forces and their Ethiopian supporters.
Abd’Allah Hassan is widely considered as a national hero of modern Somalia, as he rallied all Somalis irrespective of their beliefs under his command with the sole aim of pushing back the advances of imperialist Britain, Italy and their Ethiopian supporters.

22nd April

1922, African-American Jazz musician and composer Charles Mingus was born on this day.



1834, Britain decides to take control of St. Helena, from the British East India Company, making the Island a British crown colony. Today, St. Helena is the second oldest British colony after Bermuda.

1960, after a series of violence rocked many cities around South Africa, the government declares a state of emergency, which resulted in over 1,500 people being detained, including ANC leader Nelson Mandela being detained.

1984,Britain severs diplomatic links with Libya, following the shooting to death of a British police woman Yvonne Fletcher, in front of the Libyan embassy in London. She was part of a group of Police officers who were dispatched to maintain order during a protest by Libyan dissidents against the Libyan government in front of the Libyan embassy. It took fifteen years before Al Ghaddafi finally accepted responsibility and agreed to pay compensation to Fletcher’s family.

1990, a group of military officers led by Major Gideon Orkah lead a brief coup against General Ibrahim Babangida who was head of state at that time. Babangida however managed to regain control of the nation later.

21st April,

On this day April 21, 2010 in;

1619, the man considered as the founding father of the Afrikaner nation in South Africa, Jan Anthoniszoon van Riebeeck, was born in the Netherland’s city of Culemborg. Van Riebeeck built the first fort in South Africa, and later died in Batavia near modern day Jakarta in 1677.



1859, Scottish explorer, adventurer and missionary, David Livingstone lands in Cape Town, in his bid to find the source of the Niger river, and also to win converts to the Christian religion. He later died of malaria and some complications due to dysentery in 1873 near Lake Bangweulu in modern day Zambia.

1906, Ms Mary Thelma Washington was born in Vicksburg, Miss. She would later become the first black woman to be certified as a public accountant in the US.

1966, President Lyndon B. Johnson awards the presidential medal of honor posthumously to private first class Milton Lee Olive III, for the sacrificing his life in other to save his colleagues when a hand grenade was thrown at them by rebels in the Vietnam war. The award was received by Olive’s father and step mother at the step of the White house, making him the first African American service man to be given such an award.

1994, 10 Belgian soldiers are massacred by Hutu militias in Rwanda, thus bringing to the international front, news of the ongoing genocide of the minority Tutsis which had started a few weeks earlier. In the three months that the genocide took place-April to July- approximately 800,000-1000000 ethnic Tutsis and moderate Hutu politicians lost their lives, many of the leading conspirators of this crime have been jailed by the International Court of Justice.

welcome

Hi
welcome to afrohistorytoday, on this page, i will be presenting you with the historical events which occurred on or was concerned with the continent of Africa. Events will be brought to you in chronological order so as to make it easier for us to know and to remember our history as a people, and as the saying goes "a people who do not know their history are a lost herd of animals" i am not sure where i saw this, but i didn't mean to steal it so i hope its author will bear with me.

I hope you enjoy what is here but if you have any comments, criticism or grievances i hope you don;t hesitate to air it out, after all, we are in a free world. Catch you later ok?