Historical figures in Nairobi
The atlas holds 17 people and 71 moments here, from 1909 to 2022. The most recorded lives are Mwai Kibaki, Daniel arap Moi and Wangarĩ Maathai. Among them Political Leaders, Writers and Scientists, across the Space Age and the Cold War.
Notable people
Christiaan Barnard
in 1978
1 moment here
South African cardiac surgeon who led the team that performed the first successful human-to-human heart transplant at Groote Schuur Hospital in Cape…
Daniel arap Moi
from 1978 to 2020
13 moments here
Kenyan teacher and politician who served as Kenya’s vice president from 1967 to 1978 and its second president from 1978 to 2002.…
Edgar Lungu
in 2017
1 moment here
Edgar Chagwa Lungu was a Zambian lawyer and politician who served as Zambia's sixth president from 2015 to 2021.…
Ernest Hemingway
from 1933 to 1954
3 moments here
American novelist, short-story writer, and journalist. Hemingway’s documented movements ranged from Illinois and Michigan to Italy in World War I,…
Grace Kelly
in 1952
1 moment here
American actress Grace Patricia Kelly became an internationally prominent film star in the early 1950s, then Princess of Monaco after her 1956…
Indira Gandhi
in 1981
1 moment here
Indira Priyadarshini Gandhi was an Indian stateswoman who served as prime minister from 1966 to 1977 and from 1980 until her assassination in 1984.…
Jerry Rawlings
in 2011
1 moment here
Jerry John Rawlings was a Ghanaian Air Force officer and politician who led Ghana in 1979 and from 1981 to 2001, first as military ruler and later as…
John Magufuli
in 2016
1 moment here
John Pombe Joseph Magufuli was a Tanzanian chemist and politician who served as Tanzania’s fifth president from 5 November 2015 until his death in…
Jomo Kenyatta
from 1909 to 1963
11 moments here
Jomo Kenyatta (c. 1897–1978) was a Kenyan anti-colonial activist and politician who became Kenya’s first prime minister in 1963 and first president…
Kofi Annan
in 2008
1 moment here
Ghanaian diplomat and statesman who served as Secretary-General of the United Nations from 1997 to 2006.…
Li Keqiang
in 2014
1 moment here
Chinese politician and economist who rose from rural labour in Anhui through the Communist Youth League, led Henan and Liaoning, served as vice…
Milton Obote
from 1971 to 1985
2 moments here
Apollo Milton Obote was a Ugandan politician who served as prime minister from 1962 to 1966 and as president from 1966 to 1971 and from 1980 to 1985.…
Muhammadu Buhari
in 2022
1 moment here
Nigerian army officer, military head of state from 1983 to 1985, and elected president of Nigeria from 2015 to 2023.…
Mwai Kibaki
from 1969 to 2022
18 moments here
Kenyan economist and politician who served as Kenya’s third president from 2002 to 2013. This chronology records documented physical presence from…
Ngũgĩ wa Thiong'o
from 1967 to 2004
3 moments here
Kenyan novelist, playwright, essayist, language advocate, and academic. Ngũgĩ’s life moved from colonial Kenya through education in Uganda and…
Pope Francis
in 2015
1 moment here
Jorge Mario Bergoglio, Pope Francis, was an Argentine Jesuit priest, archbishop of Buenos Aires, cardinal, and head of the Catholic Church and…
Wangarĩ Maathai
from 1966 to 2011
11 moments here
Kenyan environmentalist, democracy activist, academic, founder of the Green Belt Movement, parliamentarian, and the first African woman awarded the…
Moments
- 1909 Mission schooling at Thogoto Jomo Kenyatta
- 1912 Apprentice carpenter at Thogoto Mission Jomo Kenyatta
- 1914 Baptism at Thogoto Jomo Kenyatta
- 1917 Store work in Nairobi Jomo Kenyatta
- 1919 Residence in Dagoretti Jomo Kenyatta
- 1922 Residence in Kilimani Jomo Kenyatta
- 1928 Hilton Young Commission evidence Jomo Kenyatta
- 1933 East African safari: Nairobi Ernest Hemingway
- 1933 Evacuation to Nairobi Ernest Hemingway
- 1952 Anti-Mau Mau mass meeting Jomo Kenyatta
- 1952 Arrest and transfer through Nairobi Jomo Kenyatta
- 1952 Arrival for Mogambo production Grace Kelly
- 1954 Recuperation in Nairobi Ernest Hemingway
- 1963 East African Federation meeting Jomo Kenyatta
- 1963 Sworn in as prime minister Jomo Kenyatta
- 1966 Research appointment in Nairobi Wangarĩ Maathai
- 1967 Lecturer at the University of Nairobi Ngũgĩ wa Thiong'o
- 1969 Cabinet meeting at State House Mwai Kibaki
- 1969 Return to Nairobi academic work Wangarĩ Maathai
- 1971 Attempted counteroffensive from Nairobi Milton Obote
- 1977 Detention at Kamiti Maximum Security Prison Ngũgĩ wa Thiong'o
- 1977 First Green Belt tree planting Wangarĩ Maathai
- 1978 Medical ethics address in Nairobi Christiaan Barnard
- 1978 Cabinet meeting as new president Daniel arap Moi
- 1978 Presidential swearing-in at Uhuru Park Daniel arap Moi
- 1979 Imprisonment at Lang'ata Wangarĩ Maathai
- 1980 Opened Nairobi Agricultural Show Daniel arap Moi
- 1981 Renewable-energy conference keynote Indira Gandhi
- 1982 Address to OAU summit Daniel arap Moi
- 1983 Hosted Queen Elizabeth II Daniel arap Moi
- 1985 Meeting with Tanzanian minister Daniel arap Moi
- 1985 Flight into Kenyan exile Milton Obote
- 1985 UN women's conference work Wangarĩ Maathai
- 1987 Opened All-Africa Games Daniel arap Moi
- 1988 Opened sixth National Assembly Daniel arap Moi
- 1992 Freedom Corner hunger strike Wangarĩ Maathai
- 1993 Inauguration after multiparty election Daniel arap Moi
- 1998 Inauguration after 1997 election Daniel arap Moi
- 1999 Karura Forest protest attack Wangarĩ Maathai
- 2001 Saba Saba Day arrest Wangarĩ Maathai
- 2002 NARC nomination rally Mwai Kibaki
- 2002 Accompanied Uhuru Kenyatta at KICC Daniel arap Moi
- 2002 First presidential inauguration Mwai Kibaki
- 2003 Hospital treatment after accident Mwai Kibaki
- 2004 Return visit to Kenya Ngũgĩ wa Thiong'o
- 2005 Sudan peace agreement ceremony Mwai Kibaki
- 2005 Tour with Gordon Brown Wangarĩ Maathai
- 2006 Tree planting with Barack Obama Wangarĩ Maathai
- 2007 Presidential campaign launch Mwai Kibaki
- 2007 Second presidential swearing-in Mwai Kibaki