Encyclopaedia Africana

Revolutionaries, Statesmen & Traditional Rulers

  • 2 Min Read

Nzinga Mpudi (circa 1510-November 4, 1561) ruled from 1545 to 1561, as Mani Kongo (ruler of the Kongo) during a period of confrontation between the...

  • 13 Min Read

Moise Tshombe (November 19, 1919-June 29, 1969) served as president of the secessionist state of Katanga, and then as prime minister of the Republic of...

  • 5 Min Read

Nyaiyongwa (circa 1885-1961) ruled the artificially-created Lobala-Likoka sector, between the Ubangi and Giri rivers northwest of present-day Makanza throughout its entire existence from 1940 to...

  • 2 Min Read

Nkongolo, a Luba folk hero, (who may have lived in the earlier 16th century), was the legendary Mulopwe (chief) who supposedly laid the first foundations...

  • 4 Min Read

Shyaam aMbul aNgoong (ruled circa 1625-1640) is remembered as the founder of Kuba civilisation. Living east of the confluence of the Sankuru and Kasai rivers,...

  • 10 Min Read

Ethelred Nathaniel Jones (June 28, 1884-March 29, 1954) who from the 1920s, onwards also used the name Laminah Sankoh, was one of the most outstanding...

  • 6 Min Read

Momoh Sankoh (?-circa 1890) was a leading member of the Soso Sankoh clan who made several determined but unsuccessful attempts to regain the rulership of...

  • 4 Min Read

Frederic Adolphus Miller (July 2, 1862-October 1, 1943) was a civil servant who took an active part in West African politics in later life. A...

  • 4 Min Read

Mendegla of Joru (?-1890) was one of the most powerful Mende warriors of the later 19th century. Using his immense influence over other rulers, he...

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Marlay Bokari (circa 1800-circa 1900) was ruler over the Mara clan of the Koranko in Sierra Leone in the second half of the 19th century...

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.
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