Ras Tafari, a member of the Ethiopian imperial family, deposes his distant relation the emperor and puts on the throne his aunt, Zauditu

Paul von Lettow-Vorbeck, commander of the German army in East Africa, surrenders after four stubborn years of resistance

German East Africa is to be governed by Britain as Tanganyika, under a League of Nations mandate

The Young Kikuyu Association is formed in Kenya, to fight for African rights and the restoration of Kikuyu land

The League of Nations grants Belgium a mandate to administer the former Germany colony of Ruanda-Urundi

Jomo Kenyatta becomes the editor of Muigwithania, the newspaper of the Kikuyu Central Association

The regent Ras Tafari becomes emperor of Ethiopia and takes the name Haile Selassie

Mussolini uses a disagreement over grazing rights as a pretext for an empire-building invasion of Ethiopia

The Italian forces invading Ethiopia reach Addis Ababa, and Haile Selassie flees into exile

Danish author Karen Blixen publishes her autobiographical novel Out of Africa

The Allies recover Ethiopia from the Italians and Haile Selassie returns to his throne in Addis Ababa

A decision by the United Nations makes Eritrea an autonomous federal province within Ethiopia

An outbreak of terrorism in Kenya is orchestrated by a secret Kikuyu organization, the Mau Mau

Jomo Kenyatta, charged with having organized the Mau Mau uprising in Kenya, is sentenced to seven years in prison

Civil war breaks out in Sudan between the Muslim north and the Christian south

Rwanda suffers the first nationwide outbreak of Hutu violence against Tutsis

British and Italian colonies merge as the independent Somali republic, also known as Somalia, with Aden Abdullah Osman as president

Kenyatta, still in prison, is elected leader of KANU, a new political party in Kenya

Tanganyika becomes an independent nation with Julius Nyerere as prime minister

The Eritrean parliament votes to merge fully with Ethiopia, ending Eritrean autonomy

The former British colony of Uganda becomes an independent republic, with Milton Obote as prime minister

The OAU (Organization of African Unity) is founded in Addis Ababa to give Africa a united voice in world affairs

An invasion of Rwanda by Tutsi guerrillas prompts the first major Hutu massacre of Tutsis

Zanzibar becomes an independent nation and a member of the Commonwealth

Kenya becomes independent, with Jomo Kenyatta as prime minister