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.
Politician, philanthropist, and investor Benoni Wilfred Urey is one of the wealthiest Liberians and the founder of Lonestar Cell Mobile Telecommunication Corporation (MTN), Liberia’s largest nationwide mobile network. Urey was born on June 22, 1957, in Careysburg Montserrado County, the Republic of Liberia, to Daniel … Read MoreBenoni Wilfred Urey (1957- )
Her Honor Chief Justice Sie-A-Nyene Gyapay Yuoh, Liberia’s first female Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, was appointed in 2013. Sie-A-Nyene Gyapay Yuoh was born on June 26, 1956, in Montserrado County, Liberia, to Anthony Kle Yuoh and Maromini Worbor Kollie. She has 21 siblings: … Read MoreSie-A-Nyene Gyapay Yuoh (1956- )
Aoua Kéita was a Malian independence activist, politician, feminist, writer, and midwife. Born on July 12, 1912, in then Bamako, French Sudan to Karamogo Kéita, a member of the colonial hygiene service and Miriam Coulibaly, Aoua was one of the few African girls allowed to … Read MoreAoua Kéita (1912-1980)
Offiong Ekanem Ejindu is a Nigerian architect, philanthropist, and businesswoman born in Ibadan, Nigeria in June 1962 to Professor Sylvester Joseph Una and Obonganwan Ekpa Una. Princess Fifi, reputedly a billionaire, is an influential philanthropist, “ranked as one of the African female pioneers in the … Read MorePrincess Fifi Ejindu (1962- )
Writer Gary Younge was born in January 1969 in Hertfordshire, England, to Barbadian parents. He grew up in the town of Stevenage, which had a very small Black population at the time. Gary and his two elder brothers, Pat and Wayne, were brought up by … Read MoreGary Younge (1969- )
Amar’e Stoudemire is an American-Israeli professional basketball player and coach, actor, and entrepreneur born in Lake Wales, Florida on November 16, 1982. After a successful career in the National Basketball Association, he moved to Israel to explore his Jewish identity. Stoudemire was born to Hazell … Read MoreAmar’e Carsares Jehoshaphat Stoudemire (1982- )
Master guitarist, paralanguage hummer, and singer Joseph T. Spence was born on August 3, 1910, in Small Hope, Andros Island, Bahamas. Spence had one sister, Edith Pinder, who sang with him, and four half-brothers. However, there was no available information regarding the names of his … Read MoreJoseph T. Spence (1910-1984)
Madam Yoko, born Soma in the Gbo Chiefdom, was the head of the Mende people of Sierra Leone. She ruled the extensive Kpa Mende Confederacy for decades before her death. Also known as Mammy Yoko, she and three brothers were raised by their warrior father … Read MoreMadam Yoko (c. 1849-1906)
Louis-Benoit Zamor is best known for helping to send French Aristocrat Madame Jeanne du Barry to the guillotine during the French Revolution (1789-1794). Born in Chittagong, India (present-day Bengal), probably of Siddi ancestry (the Siddi were Indians of African descent), Zamor’s birth year is generally … Read MoreLouis-Benoit Zamor (1762-1820)
Journalist, publisher, farmer, legal advisor, and political activist Ralph D. de Magne de Chabert, the son of Louis de Chabert and Laura de Chabert, was born in Saint Croix, Danish West Indies, on January 12, 1890. However, the 1940 US Census indicates his date of … Read MoreRalph D. de Magne de Chabert (1890-1955)
