Ras Alula who was born from peasant family and rose to become Atse Yohannes's best General & powerful Governor of Mereb Melash (present day Eritrea) died on
19 February 1897. Source: Ehrlich, H. ’74 – Alula, ‘The Son of Qubi’: a ‘King's Man’ in Ethiopia, 1875–1897. J. of African History. Vol. 15#2.
February 19-22, 1937 Following an attempt on General Graziani's life by Abraha Deboch & Moges Asgedom, Fascist Italian forces responded ruthlessly and carried out a 3 day massacre that killed 30,000 residents of Adisaba. Many of the young educated Ethiopians were executed that day.[Stay tuned for guest blog entry featuring an eye witness account of those tragic days to be posted in couple of days. Editor]
February 21, 1543 - Imam Ahmad bin Ibrahim (Gragn Ahmed) was killed in battle at a place called Wayna Daga & his army disintegrated. Source: Futuh Al Habasa - The Conquest of Abyssinia.p. iii and R. Pankhurst - The Ethiopians p. 92-3.
On
February 23, 1974 - Popular revolt in various cities and mutinies by some units of Ethiopian armed forces led to resignation of Prime Minister Aklilu Habtewold cabinet.
Born on Yekatit 16 / Feb. 24
Dagnachew Worku in 1928 E.C./1936 G.C. - Novelist, Playwright, Poet, Translator & University Lecture.
Captain Alemayehu Abebe in 1916 E.C./1923 G.C. - Commercial Jet Pilot. A pioneer in Ethioipian aviation history. First black African to command commercial jetliner across the Atlantic.
