1918, 18 July
Birth of South African statesman and anti-Apartheid leader Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela at Mvezo, Umtata District, Transkei.
1935, 18 July
Emperor Haile Selassi tells the Abyssinian parliament in Addis Ababa that it is "better to die for freedom than to live as a slave" and that he would lay down his own life for the country. "For forty years, Italy has desired to conquer our country, but Abyssinia knows how to fight to the last man to preserve the country's independence".
1978, 18 July
The Organisation of African Unity, OAU, summit at Khartoum, Sudan, is attended by 30 African nations.
1998, 18 July
Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela marries Graca Machel, widow of Samora Moisés Machel the former president of Mozambique (who was killed in a mysterious plane crash on 19 Oct 1986).
