Encyclopaedia Africana

Encyclopaedia Africana

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Mpande (1798-1872) was the third king of the Zulus. The first three rulers of the Zulu empire had been brothers, sons of Senzangakhona, a less...

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Farma Tami, a folk hero, who lived at an uncertain date, is traditionally believed to have established the Temne of Sierra Leone as an important...

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Mswati II (1820-1868), proclaimed king of the Swazi at the age of 16, has been described as “the greatest of the Swazi fighting kings.” He...

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Alimamy Bungie (December 3, 1870-August 20, 1935) was a colorful Krio (Creole) personality who was prominent in Freetown during the earlier decades of the 20th...

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John Ezzidio (circa 1810-October 1872) was a recaptive from Nupe, in what is now Nigeria, who became the first African to sit on the Sierra...

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Malcolm Raymond Dunford Mseleku (December 8, 1912-January 1961) was a Zulu poet and storyteller whose works were published in Zulu language journals and newspapers. He...

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Al Haji Omaru (1851?-April 26, 1931) was a Fula trading agent for a French company who became leader of the migrant Fula population in Freetown....

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Nongquase (1841-1898) was the niece of the Gcaleka (Xhosa) prophet Mhlakaza, who lived during the reign of Sarili. She was the source of the prophecy...

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Lieutenant John Clarkson (1763-1828) brought more than 1,100 North American freedmen from Nova Scotia to Sierra Leone, and became first governor of the Sierra Leone...

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Melchoir de Marion Bressilac (1813-June 25, 1859), was the first Catholic bishop of Sierra Leone, and the founder o the Society of African Missions (S.M.A.). Marion...

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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Encyclopaedia Africana