Encyclopaedia Africana

African History Encyclopaedia

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Clement Anderson Akrofi (July 1, 1901-July 1, 1967) was an educator, theologian, and linguist. He became the foremost authority on the Twi language in his...

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Thomas George Lawson (circa 1814-June 1891) was a chief’s son who became the first official interpreter and messenger operating between the colonial administration and the...

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Tetteh Quarshie (1842-1892) is acknowledged to be the man who made cocoa cultivation a prosperous industry in the Gold Coast (now Ghana), and so laid...

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Sir Charles William Tachie-Menson (1889 – October 17, 1962), who had a distinguished career in public service, was the first African Chairman of the Public...

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Togbi Sri II (1862-1956) was the Awoamefia (paramount chief) of Anlo for nearly 50 years (1907-1956). He distinguished himself as an innovator and as a...

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Sitobu, who flourished around 1450, was the first Ya Na (paramount chief) of the kingdom of Dagomba in what is now northeastern Ghana which he...

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Aaron Belisarius Cosimo Sibthorpe (circa 1840-June 20, 1916) was the first historian of Sierra Leone. He was probably brought to Sierra Leone as a boy,...

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Alfred James Shorunkeh-Sawyerr (circa 1861-May 18, 1929), bookseller, printer, journalist, and eventually practicing lawyer, was a forceful and outspoken participant in public affairs in the...

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Shaka, (circa 1787-September 12, 1828) was the founder of the Zulu nation and a social and military innovator. The exact date of his birth is...

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Barnabas Root (1846-1877) was a Sherbro who received Western education at the Mende Mission school. He went on to study divinity in the United States...

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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The Encyclopaedia Africana Project is an AU Flagship Project with the mission to produce and publish peer reviewed articles devoted mainly to Africa and its people.