This Day in History 29th March

The foundation stone is laid for Lagos, Nigeria’s first Cathedral, the Anglican Cathedral Church of Christ. The church will be replaced by the current Cathedral that will be built from 1925 to 1946 (pic).

1887

International telegraph service arrives in Eritrea with a submarine cable laid from Yemen.

1947

The Malagasy Uprising begins when legal efforts by nationalists fail to move France toward independence for Madagascar. Malagasy men armed with spears attack French-owned plantations. Within a month, the rebellion spreads to the south. One million Malagasy eventually become nationalist fighters.

1953

A poorly maintained aircraft causes a Central African Airways flight from Blantyre, Nyasaland (Malawi) to Dar es Salaam, Tanganyika, to disintegrate in mid-air near Mkwaya, Tanganyika. The plane crash kills all 13 people on board.

1959

Central African Republic independence leader Barthélemy Boganda, who would have been the country’s first president, is killed in a plane crash months after France agreed to his terms for national independence. Traces of explosives will be found in the wreckage, but this information will be withheld from the public.

1961

Of the 28 South African anti-apartheid activists out of the 156 originally charged when their treason trial began in 1956, all are found not guilty. Previously, charges were dropped for the others. The prosecution fails to prove that Nelson Mandela and the other defendants committed acts of violence or that the African National Congress is a Communist organisation.

1964

The radio station Holy Quran Network begins broadcasting, from Cairo, Egypt, transmitting 24 hours a day.

1998

U.S. President Bill Clinton is the first U.S. president to visit Botswana. He meets with Botswana President Quett Masire, and visits Chobe National Park.

Dominion of Canada created

On this day in 1867, with the British North America Act, the British colonies of Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, and Canada were united as the Dominion of Canada, and the province of Canada was separated into Quebec and Ontario.

French filmmaker Agnès Varda, whose groundbreaking movies were hugely influential in the New Wave movement, died at age 90.

Today In History: The foundation stone is laid for Lagos, Nigeria’s first Cathedral, the Anglican Cathedral Church of Christ