Andree Madeleine Blouin, one of an emerging group of African activists and political leaders in the 1960s, was born in Bessou in the French Colony of Ubangi-Shari (today’s Central African Republic) on December 16, 1921. Her mother, Josephine Wouassemba, was a 14 year old Banzi … Read MoreAndree Blouin (1921-1986)
Ali Bongo Ondimba is a Gabonese politician who has been serving as the 3rd President of Gabon since 2009. Ondimba was born Alain Bernard Bongo, on February 9, 1959, in Brazzaville, the capital of the Republic of Congo. His father’s name was Albert Bernard Bongo … Read MoreAli Bongo Ondimba
(1959- )
The long-serving president of the Republic of Congo (Congo-Brazzaville), Denis Sassou-Nguesso was born on November 23, 1943, in Edou. His parents were Julien Nguesso, a noted hunter-chief, and Emilienne Mouebara. Denis Sassou-Nguesso attended elementary school in Owando and was also initiated in the Mbochi tribal … Read MoreDenis Sassou-Nguesso (1943- )
Matshidiso Rebecca Natalie Moeti is a medical doctor, public health specialist, and medical administrator from Botswana who has served as regional director of the World Health Organization Regional Office for Africa (AFRO), based in Brazzaville, Republic of Congo, since 2015. She is also the first … Read MoreMatshidiso Moeti (1954- )
Fulbert Youlou was the first President of the Republic of Congo, also known as Congo Brazzaville. Youlou was born on July 9, 1917, at Mandibu, a town near Brazzaville, capital of the French Congo which was part of French Equatorial Africa. As a young boy, … Read MoreFulbert Youlou (1917-1972)
François Tombalbaye was the first President of Chad. He was born on June 15, 1918 in the village of Bessada in southern Chad which was then a French colony. His family were from the Sara ethnic group. Tombalbaye attended primary school in the town of … Read MoreFrançois Tombalbaye (1918-1975)
Adelaide McGuinn Cromwell was an accomplished American Sociologist as well as a pioneering scholar of Africa, African America, international relations, and women’s studies. On November 27, 1919, Adelaide was born to a prominent Washington, D.C. family. Her father John Wesley Cromwell Jr. was the first-ever … Read MoreAdelaide McGuinn Cromwell (1919-2019)
John Wesley Gilbert was and educator, a missionary, and the first African American archaeologist. He was also the first graduate of Paine College, and the first African American to receive a master’s degree from Brown University. Gilbert was born free on July 6, 1863 in … Read MoreJohn Wesley Gilbert (1863-1923)
“Image Ownership: Bernadette Defrasne/Senat” Jeanne (Jane) Vialle was a black French journalist and senator coming from the French colonies, born on 27 August 1906. She is one of the rare French women senators of her time and one of the first black persons to be … Read MoreJeanne/Jane Vialle (1906–1953)
In the article below, Carlton McLellan, PhD, a senior fellow at the Association for Diplomatic Studies and Training (ADST), briefly describes the history of the more than one hundred and forty black women and men who have led diplomatic delegations as U.S. Ambassadors in ninety-five … Read MoreAmerica’s Black Ambassadors: A Historical Snapshot
