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Encyclopaedia Africana

Heroes and Heroines

  • 3 Min Read

Charles Henry Somerset (1767-1831) was British Governor of the Cape Colony from 1814-26. During his tenure, the Colonial office took steps to guarantee a permanent...

  • 3 Min Read

Tiyo Soga (circa 1829-August 12, 1871) was the first ordained African minister in South Africa. He translated part of the Bible and other works into...

  • 3 Min Read

John Henderson Soga (February 10, 1860-March 18, 1941) was a Xhosa minister, translator, historian, and ethnographer, whose works remain relevant in the mid-1980s. The son...

  • 8 Min Read

Jan Christian Smuts (May 24, 1870-September 11, 1950), statesman, soldier and philosopher, was born at Bovenplaats, near Riebeek West in the Cape Colony. After graduating...

  • 2 Min Read

Sir Henry George Wakelyn (“Harry”) Smith (June, 1787-October 12, 1860), a British general and governor of the Cape Colony, was born in Whittlesey, Cambridgeshire, England,...

  • 2 Min Read

Sir Theophilus Shepstone (January 8, 1817-June 23, 1893) is credited with the construction of an administrative policy in both Natal and Zululand for the governance...

  • 3 Min Read

Pixley ka Izaka Seme (circa 1880-1951) is best known as a co-founder of the present day African National Congress and the founder and publisher of...

  • 3 Min Read

Sekhukhuni (circa 1810-August 13, 1882) was a Bapedi chief who, because of his resistance to both the Boers and the British, is regarded as one...

  • 3 Min Read

Hastings Kamuzu Banda (c. 1898 — 1997) was the principal leader of Malawi’s nationalist movement, the architect of the country’s independence from British colonial rule,...

  • 4 Min Read

Omar Bongo Ondimba (born Albert-Bernard Bongo; 30 December 1935 – 8 June 2009) was a Gabonese statesman who served as the second president of Gabon...

Editor’s Note

This website features a collection of articles largely from previously published volumes of the Encyclopaedia Africana, specifically the Encyclopaedia Africana Dictionary of African Biography, which highlights notable individuals from various regions of Africa. Please note that in these volumes, some names of people, towns, and countries were spelled differently than they are today. We have retained these historical spellings to preserve the integrity of the original publications. In some instances, the current spellings are also provided for easy reference.
Please report errors to: info@encyclopaediaafricana.com / research@encyclopaediaafricana.com

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