The following are short descriptions of the women and men who 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.
Marcel Pliat was one of several French nationals who served in the Russian Imperial Army during World War I but he was the only black man to serve in the Russian Imperial Air Force. Pliat was born in French Polynesia (now Tahiti) around 1890. His … Read MoreMarcel Pliat (ca. 1890-1917?)
Bilal ibn Rabah al-Habashi was a loyal Sahabah (companion) to the Prophet Muhammad and thus one of the earliest converts in the newly-emerging religion of Islam. He was also the first mu’azzin (prayer caller) in the Muslim faith. Rabah is the first person of known … Read MoreBilal ibn Rabah al-Habashi (580-640)
South African career trade unionist Lucy Buyaphi Mvubelo was a leading figure in the movement to improve conditions for workers in South Africa, although she saw that campaign as separate from the anti-Apartheid Movement. Lucy Mvubelo was born on January 20, 1920 in Spes Bona, … Read MoreLucy Buyaphi Mvubelo (née Twala) (1920-2000)
Francis Williams is reputed to be the first person of African ancestry to graduate from Cambridge University. Williams was born around 1702 to John and Dorothy Williams, a free African couple in Jamaica. John Williams had been manumitted by the will of his former master. … Read MoreFrancis Williams (Jamaica) (1700-1770)
Dr. Jotello Festiri Soga in 1886 became the first South African of any race to receive a degree in veterinary medicine. Born in 1865 into a distinguished Xhosa family from the Eastern Cape, his parents were Rev. Tiyo Soga, and Janet Burnside Soga, who was … Read MoreJotello Festiri Soga (1865-1906)
Justin Soni Fashanu was Britain’s first black openly gay footballer to earn a £1 million transfer fees contract. Born in East London on February 19, 1961 to Pearl Lawrence, a British-Guyanese nurse, and Patrick Fashanu, a Nigerian barrister, Fashanu was one of the couple’s three … Read MoreJustin Soni Fashanu (1961-1998)
Norman A. Black is one of the most prominent coaches in the history of professional sports in the Philippines. Born in Baltimore, Maryland on November 12, 1957, Black was the son of a public school teacher. He graduated from the Catholic Cardinal Gibbons School in … Read MoreNorman August Black (1957- )
Théodore Chassériau was perhaps one of the most talented but less celebrated artists of the 19th century. Born on September 20, 1819 in El Limón, a provincial town in the Dominican Republic, Chassériau was the son of Benoît Chassériau, a French diplomat and bureaucrat, and … Read MoreThéodore Chassériau (1819-1856)
Sheku Kanneh-Mason is a teenage cellist who performed at the wedding of Prince Harry and American actress Meghan Markle on May 19, 2018. Born on April 4, 1999, Kanneh-Mason grew up in Nottingham, England with his six siblings. His father Stuart Mason worked as a … Read MoreSheku Kanneh-Mason (1999- )
Kandake Amanirenas was a queen of the ancient African Kingdom of Kush who was best known for skillfully defending her kingdom against the armies of the Roman Empire. Amanirenas was probably born between 60 and 50 B.C. and was the second of the eight Kandakes … Read MoreKandake Amanirenas (?-10 BC)