Madagascar’s queen, Ranavalona III, was born Princess Razafindrahety in Amparibe, Manjakazafy, Madagascar, on November 22, 1861. She was the last sovereign of the Kingdom of Madagascar. Reared as a Protestant, her formal education was completed privately by London Missionary Society instructors. Her parents were Andriantsimianatra … Read MoreQueen Ranavalona III (1861-1917)
Gisèle Rabesahala, a political and human rights activist and councilwoman, was born Marie Gisèle Aimée Rabesahala on May 7, 1929, in Antananarivo, Madagascar, which had been a French colonial possession since 1896. Her father was a non-commissioned French army officer, and Rabesahala spent her childhood … Read MoreGisèle Rabesahala (1929-2011)
The current president of Madagascar, Andry Nirina Rajoelina, was born on May 30, 1984, in Antsirabe, Madagascar. His father, Roger Yves Rajoelina, was an army colonel. No information is available on his mother. Andry attended high school in Antananarivo, the capital of Madagascar. After graduation, … Read MoreAndry Rajoelina
(1974- )
Mohammed ben Youssef, the third son of Sultan Moulay Youssef, was born on August 10, 1909, in Fez, Morocco. He became King Mohammed V of independent Morocco. When Mohammed was born, Morocco was a French protectorate. As a child, he received a traditional Koranic education … Read MoreMohammed V (1909-1961)
Philibert Tsiranana was the first president of the Malagasy Republic (now Madagascar). He was born on October 18, 1912, in Ambarikorano, Sofia Region, Madagascar. His parents were Madiomanana and Fisadoha Tsiranana. They were from the Tsimihety ethnic group and were cattle ranchers. As a young … Read MorePhilibert Tsiranana (1912-1978)
Marie-Joseph dite Angelique was born around the year 1700 in the colony of Madeira, Portugal. It is unclear if she was born a slave or sold into slavery but she was first sold to Nichus Block (Nicholas Bleeker) who took her to North America sometime … Read MoreMarie-Joseph dite Angelique (1700-1734)
Pioneering cartographer and meteorologist Jean-Baptist Lislet-Geoffroy was born August 23, 1755 in Saint-Pierre, Réunion, a French island colony in the Indian Ocean east of Madagascar and southern Africa. He was the son of Jean-Baptiste Geoffroy, a white French engineer, and an African princess and ex-slave … Read MoreJean Baptiste Lislet-Geoffroy (a.k.a. Geoffroy L’Islet, 1755-1836)
Image Ownership: DocAnciens/docpix.fr French naval hero Camille Mortenol was born November 29, 1859 in Pointe-à-Pitre, the largest city in the French island colony of Guadeloupe in the Caribbean Sea, the son of former slave André Mortenol, a sailor, and his wife, Julienne Toussaint, a seamstress. … Read MoreCamille Sosthène Héliodore Mortenol (1859-1930)
William Henry Hunt, African American U.S. diplomat, was born a slave in Tennessee in 1863. Hunt claimed to have been born on June 29, 1869, so he could get into school at the age of twenty-six, posing as a twenty-year-old, a lie he kept to … Read MoreWilliam Henry Hunt (1863-1951)
Andy Razaf was a philosopher–poet, composer, and prolific musical lyricist of over five hundred songs, comprising some of the greatest hits from the Tin Pan Alley (New York) era. During his professional lifetime, Razaf worked with composers such as Fats Waller, Eubie Blake, Don Redman, … Read MoreAndy Razaf (1895-1973)
