Marcus Samuelsson (1973- )

Marcus Samuelsson is an Ethiopian-Swedish chef and restaurateur. Samuelsson was born Kassahun Tsegie on January 25, 1973, in Ethiopia. His father was president of the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church. His unnamed mother died during the Ethiopian tuberculosis epidemic of 1974. Samuelsson and his sister, Fantaye, … Read MoreMarcus Samuelsson (1973- )

Emperor Menelik II (Sahle Miriam) (1844-1913)

Emperor Menelik II was one of Ethiopia’s greatest leaders, ruling as King and Emperor of Ethiopia from 1889 to 1913. He was born Sahle Miriam on August 17, 1884, in Ankober, Shewa, Ethiopia. His mother, Woizero Ejigayehu Lemma Adyamo, was a palace servant, and his … Read MoreEmperor Menelik II (Sahle Miriam) (1844-1913)

Second Sudanese Civil War (1983-2005)

The Second Sudanese Civil War was an intense 22-year conflict between the central government in Khartoum and the Sudan People’s Liberation Army (SPLA).  The war started in southern Sudan but spread to other places including the Nuba mountains and the Blue Nile region. Two million … Read MoreSecond Sudanese Civil War (1983-2005)

Homer Smith, Jr. (1909-1972)

Homer Smith, Jr., best known for his fourteen-year sojourn in the Soviet Union, was born in 1909 in Quitman, Mississippi to parents Mr. and Mrs. Homer Smith, Sr.  In 1916, at the age of seven, he moved to Minneapolis, Minnesota with his parents. Between 1922 and 1928, Smith studied journalism at the … Read MoreHomer Smith, Jr. (1909-1972)

The Asian-African (Bandung) Conference: Fact and Fiction

In the article below independent historian Kyle Haddad-Fonda describes the Asian-African Conference popularly known as the Bandung Conference which was the first significant gathering of independent and soon-to-be independent nations in Asia and Africa. From April 18 to April 24, 1955, delegates from twenty-nine countries … Read MoreThe Asian-African (Bandung) Conference: Fact and Fiction

Zhou Enlai’s African “Safari” (1963-1964)

Zhou Enlai’s first tour of Africa, popularly known as Zhou’s “Safari,” was a series of state visits to ten independent African countries, undertaken between December 1963 and February 1964 by the Chinese Premier. These visits, which occurred during a period when many countries were gaining … Read MoreZhou Enlai’s African “Safari” (1963-1964)

Operations Moses, Joshua, and Solomon (1984-1991)

In three covert military operations, called Moses, Joshua, and Solomon, over twenty thousand Ethiopian Jews were airlifted to Israel to escape hardship. This ancient community, called Beta Israel (House of Israel in English), lived in relative isolation from the rest of the Jewish world for … Read MoreOperations Moses, Joshua, and Solomon (1984-1991)

John Charles Robinson (1903-1954)

John Charles Robinson, nicknamed the Brown Condor, was an African American aviator who fought with the Imperial Ethiopian Air Force against Benito Mussolini and Fascist Italy during the Second Italian-Ethiopian War, 1935–1936. He is also known as the Father of the Tuskegee Airmen for his … Read MoreJohn Charles Robinson (1903-1954)

Ethiopian-Somali War Over the Ogaden Region (1977–1978)

In 1977 Ethiopia and Somalia engaged in a brief territory conflict over the Ogaden region situated between and claimed by both nations. This conflict however held significance greater than most territorial disputes because Ethiopia was backed by the Soviet Union and Somalia was supported by … Read MoreEthiopian-Somali War Over the Ogaden Region (1977–1978)