The following are short descriptions of the major institutions which have contributed to the shaping of Global African history. These encyclopedia entries serve as a starting point for much more inclusive descriptions and discussions that appear in other sources. For additional information please consult the print or website sources cited in the entry.
On February 16, 1827, The Church Missionary Society (CMS) founded Fourah Bay College, the first college in West Africa. The first principal of the college was Rev. Edward Jones, an African American minister. It was located atop Mount Aureol in Freetown, the capital of Sierra … Read MoreFourah Bay College (1827- )
Image Ownership: Public Domain In 1922 the British colonial government in Uganda founded a small vocational school, which would eventually become Uganda’s lone institution of higher education, Makerere University. The British Governor of Uganda, Robert Coryndon (1918-1922), proposed building a technical school for Africans. The … Read MoreMakerere University (1922– )
Students and Faculty at Achimota School, 1962 Image Ownership: Public Domain Achimota College was founded in Achimota, Gold Coast (now Ghana) in 1924 by Dr. James Emman Kwegyir Aggrey, Rev. Alexander Garden Fraser, and Sir Gordon Guggisberg, the British Governor of the Gold Coast (1919-1927), as an elite secondary … Read MoreAchimota College Achimota School (1924– )
In 1851, the national legislature of Liberia authorized the establishment of Liberia College which is now the second oldest institution of higher learning in West Africa. The Trustees of Donations for Education in Liberia purchased materials and hired faculty for the college with funds from … Read MoreUniversity of Liberia (1863– )
Class at Cheikh Anta Diop University Image Ownership: Public Domain Cheikh Anta Diop University or Université Cheikh Anta Diop (UCAD), located in Dakar, Senegal, is among the largest universities in French-speaking West Africa. The UCAD has a relatively long history as it has evolved from … Read MoreCheikh Anta Diop University (1957–)