Cape Coast Castle is a European-built fortress situated on the central coastline of Ghana. Since its initial construction in 1652, the Castle served as a trading post for European nations and as the headquarters of British colonial administration for the Gold Coast Colony. Today the … Read MoreCape Coast Castle (1652- )
J. Max Bond, Jr. was a prominent African American architect. He was born in 1935 into a prominent intellectual family from Louisville, Kentucky. His father, J. Max Bond, Sr., who held doctorate degrees in economics and sociology from the University of Southern California, was a … Read MoreJ. Max Bond, Jr. (1935-2009)
Belinda Royall, whose name appears in some documents as Royalle, was born in 1712 in Ghana, Africa. She was kidnapped from her home near the Volta River when she was 12 years old. Her description of her abduction captured in an 1783 petition vividly describes … Read MoreBelinda Royall (1712-?)
Akinwande Ouwole “Wole” Soyinka, the first African writer to win a Nobel Prize in Literature (1986) was born in Abeokuta, Nigeria on July 13, 1934. His father, Canon S.A. Soyinka, was an Anglican minister and his mother, Grace Eniola, was the daughter of an Anglican … Read MoreWole Soyinka (1934- )
On December 11, 1958, 34 year old Patrice Lumumba, president of the Congolese National Movement, spoke at the Assembly of African Peoples, an international Pan African Conference sponsored by Kwame Nkrumah, the Prime Minister of newly independent Ghana. His remarks appear below. Two years later … Read More(1958) Patrice Lumumba, “Speech at Accra”
Jerry John Rawlings, former military and political leader in Ghana, was twice head of state, and twice toppled unstable Ghanaian governments. He was born in Accra on June 22, 1947 to Scottish pharmacist James Ramsay John and Ghanaian mother Victoria Agbotui although he was never … Read MoreJerry Rawlings (1947- 2020)
Osei Kofi Tutu, the fourth ruler of the Ashanti Empire, serving from 1701 until 1717, was also one of the most important leaders of the state that is now part of modern-day Ghana. During his childhood, Tutu was part of the royal court of Denkyira … Read MoreOsei Kofi Tutu (c. 1680-1717)
James Horton, African surgeon, soldier and nationalist, challenged prevailing views on the inferiority of Africans and proposed ideologies for African self-government. His philosophies became the basis for future African independence. Horton was born in British colonial Sierra Leone outside of Freetown, the son of former … Read MoreJames Africanus Beale Horton (1835-1883)
Hastings Kamuzu Banda, the first president of Malawi, was initially presented to the Malawi people by British Colonial officials as the best person who could lead them into independence. Later as the country’s self-declared “life president,” Banda transformed this African democracy into a repressive dictatorship … Read MoreHastings Banda (ca. 1896-1997)
Kwame Nkrumah, the first prime minister (1957-1960) and president (1960-1966) of the Republic of Ghana, was the leader of the first sub-Saharan African nation to gain its independence. He subsequently became a leading figure in the campaign for the United States of Africa. Nkrumah was … Read MoreKwame Nkrumah (1909-1972)
