Heroes and Heroines

  • 4 Min Read

Edward Barter (16?-1704) of Cape Coast was perhaps the most important and influential of the indigenous African merchants who emerged on the Gold Coast in...

  • 6 Min Read

Edmund Bannerman (1832-April 19, 1903) – known as the ‘Boss of Tarkwa’ – was a civil servant, journalist, and politician who made his mark on...

  • 7 Min Read

Bankole Awoonor-Renner (circa 1907-May 27, 1970) was a prominent Gold Coast journalist, nationalist, and politician. He had studied in both the United States and the...

  • 2 Min Read

Ruth First (May 4, 1925-August 17, 1982), writer, academic and revolutionary, was a creative force and influence at the heart of South Africa’s liberation struggle....

  • 2 Min Read

Abba Gabra Mikael (1791-August 28, 1855), a 19th-century Ethiopian ecclesiastic and scholar, became a convert to Catholicism and was put to death for his faith...

  • 3 Min Read

Faku (circa 1780-1867) was the paramount chief of the Mpondo, a southern Nguni people, from about 1820-67. His father was Chief Ncqungqushe, whom Faku succeeded...

  • 3 Min Read

John Fairbairn (1794-1864), a journalist and a pioneer for a free press in the Cape of Good Hope Colony. He was born in Roxburghshire, Scotland,...

  • 2 Min Read

Tona Gaga (1868-August 1908) was the last king of Walamo, a state in southwest Ethiopia, north of Lake Abaya. He ruled from 1890-94, subsequently being...

  • 1 Min Read

George Rayner Ellis (1897-1953) was prominent as editor of one of Johannesburg’s most successful English-language dailies. He was born in London and studied at the...

  • 3 Min Read

Alfred Ilg (March 30. 1854-January 7, 1916), a Swiss craftsman, was the principal diplomatic adviser to Emperor Menilek II [reigned 1889-1913]. He was born in...

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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