1974: In the heavyweight boxing title bout, Muhammad All defeats the younger George Foreman in Kinshasa, Zaire, bringing big-time Western sports to sub-Sahara Africa. With his charisma and fast-talking persona, Ali charms the people of Africa, and becomes probably the best-known Westerner on the continent.

1996: Former heavyweight boxing champion Evander Holyfield regains the title by defeating the much-feared Mike Tyson-then successfully defends his title in a rematch held in June, 1997. Ironically, an aging George Foreman still holds a rival boxing organization's heavyweight title after making a comeback in the early 1990s.

1966-72: After persecution of the Ibo people in northern Nigeria commences, Achebe resigns from his post in the Nigerian Broadcasting Corporation and moves to the breakaway province of Biafra. He becomes a spokesman for the eventually defeated Biafran cause.

1995: Writers in the Third World experience increased danger for their political views. In 1990, the Iranian...