Timeline of some of Ethiopia’s significant events

08 February 1855	Kassa is crowned Emperor	Kassa Hailu is crowned Tewodros II, Emperor of Ethiopia, by Abuna Salama III in a ceremony at the church of Derasge Mariam.

13 April 1868	Emperor Theodros commits suicide	Emperor Theodros commits suicide after British forces advance into his stronghold at the top of Makdela Hill in Southern Wollo following a diplomatic standoff between the two countries. Considering capture by a foreign army as bringing shame on himself and his country, the Emperor takes his own life just moments before the arrival of British forces, who, upon finding his body, set out to destroy the city of Magdala including its churches and looting a large number of treasures with them. The British also took the Emperor’s son, Prince Alemayehu, 7, first to India and to England where he died 11 years later at the age of 18.

12 January 1872	Yohannes IV is crowned	Yohannes IV is crowned Emperor of Ethiopia at Axum four years after the death of Emperor Theodros.

14 November 1879	Prince Alemayehu dies in exile	Prince Alemayehu of Ethiopia, who was the son of Emperor Tewodros, dies at the age of 18 in the city of Leeds in England after being taken hostage by Briton ten years earlier. The prince was taken hostage by Briton after his father committed suicide regarding capture by an invading British army as bringing shame on himself and his country. Prince Alemayehu’s body is still kept at the medieval Windsor Castle in the English county of Berkshire.

09 March 1889	Emperor Yohannes IV dies	Emperor Yohannes IV dies at the Battle of Metema while fighting the Mahdists (Islamic revivalist Dervishes forces) and immediately after securing a decisive victory against them.

25 March 1895	Colonial Italy invades Ethiopia	Italian troops invade Ethiopia.

01 March 1896	Battle of Adwa Victory	Colonial Italy is defeated resoundingly by Ethiopia in one of the greatest battles in the history of Africa. This victory realised at the Battle of Adwa over Italy comes at a time when almost all of Africa is colonised by European powers. Emperor Minilik is credited with rallying his fellow Ethiopians behind him to fight back fiercely enough so as to deliver an unimaginable victory against the so called powerful and mighty forces of a European army.

16 February 1897	Alula Abanega dies	Ethiopian patriot and distinguished warrior Alula Abanega dies after sustaining a wound during an internal battle with his opponents. Known as the commoner who joined forces with Ethiopia’s ruling elite taking extraordinary leadership roles, Alula is credited with being the strategist during the Battle of Adwa when Ethiopia defeated the Italians under the leadership of Emperor Minilik.

27 September 1916	Zwditu I is crowned Empress	The eldest daughter of Emperor Minilik, Zwditu I, is crowned Empress of Ethiopia after official announcement of the death of Emperor Menelik II and Lij Iyasu is deposed. Zewditu ruled Ethiopia until 1930 and was the first woman head of state in the world.

02 November 1930	Ras Tafari is crowned Emperor	Ras Tafari Makonnen is crowned Emperor of Ethiopia, Haileselassie I, Conquering Lion of Judah, King of Kings and Elect of God. The ceremony takes place at St. George’s Cathedral in central Addis Ababa attended by representatives from 12 countries.

03 November 1930	Time Magazine honors Emperor	Time Magazine publishes a portrait of Emperor Haileselassie on its cover to commemorate the Emperor’s coronation in Addis Ababa that took place just a day earlier. Inside the magazine, an article dedicated to the emperor says: “Certainly the new Emperor is the greatest Abyssinian ruler of modern times.”

03 October 1935	Facist Italy invades Ethiopia	On the orders of the Italian dictator Benito Mussolini, facist Italy invades Ethiopia in its second attempt to colonise the country.

06 January 1936	Emperor is Man of the Year	Emperor Haileselassie is named Time Magazine’s Man of the Year for 1935 carrying a handsome portrait of the Emperor on its cover. Inside, giving an explanation as to why the Emperor is chosen for the title, the magazine says: “Ethiopia’s king fought an incursion by Italy’s strongman, Mussolini.”

05 May 1936	Emperor goes into exile	Facist Italian forces occupy Addis Ababa and Emperor Haileselassie is forced into exile.

30 June 1936	Emperor Haileseelassie in Geneva	Emperor Haileselassie gives a major speech to members of the League of Nations in Geneva appealing for help to oust the invading facist Italian forces from Ethiopia.

19 February 1937	Graziani massacre	Facist Italy launches three days of massacre in Addis Ababa in which hundreds of thousands of the city’s residents are shot dead, beheaded or disemboweled indiscriminately after an attempt to kill the ruthless Italian general Rodolfo Graziani is made by Ethiopians as part of the resistance movement against the facist’s invasion. Thousands of women and children are gassed to death, homes set alight and various types of fascist brutality used in retaliation.

06 April 1941	Ethiopian Patriots’ Victory Day	Ethiopian patriots liberate Addis Ababa from Facist Italy paving the way for the triumphant return of Emperor Haileselassie from exile. Facist Italy’s attempts to colonise Ethiopia comes to an abrupt end and Ethiopians have been commemorating this day ever since as “Ethiopian Patriots’ Victory Day”.

05 May 1941	Emperor Haileselassie returns to Ethiopia	Emperor Haileselassie returns to Addis Ababa exactly five years to the day of when the city was occupied by Italy.

30 December 1945	Ethiopian Airlines founded	Ethiopian Airlines is founded.

27 February 1950	First Ethiopian university is born	University College of Addis Ababa is officially opened. It is renamed Haile Selassie I University in 1962 and then Addis Ababa University in 1975.

26 May 1954	Emperor Haileselassie in USA	Emperor Haileselassie becomes the first Ethiopian leader to address a joint session of the U.S. Congress following a formal welcoming ceremony by President John F. Kennedy during the emperor’s first of seven official visits to the United States.

11 September 1960	Abebe wins marathon	Athlete Abebe Bikilla wins the first ever marathon gold medal by an African at the 1960 Rome Olympics setting a world record of 2:15:16.2 after running the entire race barefoot.

25 May 1963	African Union comes to being	The Organization of African Unity is officially founded in Addis Ababa after Emperor Haile Selassie initiates and presides over the establishment of the organization, making Addis Ababa the headquarters of the union. The ambitious effort earned the Emperor the name: “The Father of Africa”.

12 September 1974	Emperor Haileselassie is deposed	A military coup deposes Emperor Haile Selasie – the last Emperor of Ethiopia’s Solomonic Dynasty – and a Marxist regime takes over leadership of the country.

23 November 1974	60 ex-officials executed	60 Emperor Haile Selassie government officials including all of the emperor’s cabinet ministers are executed and buried in a mass grave. Two months earlier a military coup overthrew the monarchy and installed a Soviet-style socialist government. The execution of the 60 officials is announced on the national radio also giving warnings against any public display of mourning.

24 November 1974	Lucy is found	Scientists find in Ethiopia the earliest known fossil evidence of human beings from 3.2 million years ago. An individual named “Deneknesh” or “Lucy” with half of the bones of her skeleton is found, as well as a series of fossils collectively called the “First Family” that includes remains from at least 13 individuals. The finding instantly gives the world of science a much clearer evidence as to where human beings come from and Ethiopia is now referred to as the “cradle of mankind.”

13 November 1977	Mengistu becomes leader	Mengistu Haile Mariam introduces a socialist government known as the Derg and becomes head of state after executing his colleagues turned rivals Tafari Banti and Atnafu Abate who briefly assumed the position before him respectively.

23 October 1984	Famine TV report	The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) airs a news report on the 1984 Ethiopian famine which shows distressing images of suffering Ethiopians. The report, filmed by Mohamed Amin and presented by Michael Buerk, describes the situation as “the closest thing to hell on Earth” sparking an international reaction.

21 May 1991	Mengistu flees	Mengistu Haile Mariam flees to Zimbabwe after it becomes apparent that the EPRDF rebels closed in on the capital Addis Ababa ending the Derg’s 17-year socialist rule.

24 May 1991	Eritrea is separated from Ethiopia	Led by rebel leader Isaias Afwerki and propped up by his associate Meles Zenawi, Eritrea declares independence from Ethiopia. Two years later a referendum is held to legitimise the separation.

28 May 1991	The EPRDF comes to power	Led by Meles Zenawi, the rebel group Ethiopian People’s Revolutionary Democratic Front comes to power toppling the Mengistu Haile Mariam regime. The EPRDF’s control of the capital Addis Ababa follows three decades of civil war.

23 November 1996	Ethiopian Boeing tragedy	A hijacked Ethiopian Airlines Boeing 767 flight number 961 crashes off the Comoros Islands in the Indian Ocean killing 123 people including the hijackers.

19 April 2005	Axum Obelisk returns home	The stolen Axum obelisk returns to Ethiopia from Italy where it lived the preceding 68 years in exile. The 25 meters high and 2,500-year-old obelisk, sculpted from a single piece of granite, was stolen by Italy in 1937 during the failed Italian occupation of Ethiopia. For 68 years, the obelisk stood in central Rome and one-third of it arrives back in Axum on 19 April 2005 to a historic homecoming. Two of the remaining parts also arrive in subsequent weeks making the historic return complete.

15 May 2005	Democracy fails	26 million Ethiopians cast ballots taking part in what is promoted as the country’s “first democratic election ever”. The main opposition emerges victorious including a landslide win in the capital triggering panic on the part of the government, which shuts down the ballot counting, kicking out election observers and announcing that it has won. Protests follow and almost 200 are shot dead and the entire leadership of the opposition detained, accused of treason and conspiracy against the state.

20 September 2006	Oldest ancestor of human beings	Ethiopian scientists discover 3.3 million-year-old remains of a human-like child in Ethiopia. Until this discovery, the best known example of early human ancestry was “Lucy” – a 91cm tall and 25kg adult found in Ethiopia in 1974. The newly discovered child skeleton is nicknamed “Selam” and scientists say she is the oldest discovered ancestor of human beings to date.

12 September 2007	New Millennium dawns	Ethiopia starts the New Millennium eight years later than the rest of the world. Ethiopians in many parts of the world celebrate with hope for the country’s future.

19 April 2009	Tilahun Gesesse dies	Artist Tilahun Gesesse, regarded as the king of modern Ethiopian music, dies. The day is Ethiopian Easter Sunday and his passing comes less than 24 hours after his arrival from a long visit to the United States. Four days later, tens of thousands of Ethiopians farewell Tilahun in Addis Ababa in a state funeral seldom seen in modern Ethiopia.

16 August 2012	Abune Paulos dies	Controversial Patriarch of the Ethiopian Orthodox Church Abune Paulos dies in Addis Ababa at the age of 76. The Patriarch, whose original name was Gebre Medhin Wolde Yohannes, replaced Abune Merkorios in 1991 after Merkorios was forced to flee Ethiopia upon the EPRDF’s ascent to power, sparking controversy from day one. The death of Abune Paulos occurs at a time when Prime Minister Meles Zenawi’s unexplained disappearance from office left a power vacuum for over two months.

21 August 2012	Meles Zenawi is declared dead	After weeks of speculation about his health and unsubstantiated reports of his death, Prime Minister Meles Zenawi is declared dead on the state-controlled television. The announcement follows the government’s repeated denial that the PM was dead or gravely ill. The government’s announcement said Meles Zenawi died on 20 August 2012 “after contracting an infection” and was temporarily replaced by Haile Mariam Desalegne as Acting Prime Minister.

21 September 2012	Hailemariam Desalegn is sworn in as Prime Minister	Hailemariam Desalegn is sworn in as Prime Minister after he was voted in as chair of the ruling EPRDF party a week earlier by the party’s 180-member leadership. Under Meles Zenawi, Hailemariam served as Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Affairs Minister.

19 April 2015	Ethiopia is provoked through massacre of its citizens in Libya	Twenty-eight Ethiopians are massacred in a deliberate and gruesome killing that took place in the northern African country of Libya. It is understood that a group of unknown barbaric killers abducted the 28 Ethiopian nationals seeking to migrate to Europe, beheading 12 of them on a Libyan beach and shooting another group of 16 in the head in a Libyan desert. An unbearably graphic online video was circulated on Sunday, 19 April 2015, showing the cruel beheading and shooting of the 28 Ethiopians in what could possibly be an unprecedented provocation of Ethiopia ever in the country’s history.