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Greg Nwoko Historic Blog
Thursday, 29 January 2015
Hitler head X-ray
Hitler as Seen by His Doctors, 1945 – 46 This is one of five known X-rays of Hitler's head, part of his medical records compiled by American military intelligence after the German's surrendered and declassified in 1958. The records also include doctor's reports, diagrams of his teeth and nose and electrocardiograms....
Clayton J. Lonetree is the first US Marine to be convicted of spying against the USA.
Stationed in Moscow as a guard at the US Embassy in the early 1980s, he confessed in 1987 to selling documents to the Soviet Union. Entrapped by a 25 yr. old female Soviet officer named "Violetta Seina". Then Blackmailed for US Secret Docs, including the blueprints of the US Embassy in Moscow and Vienna. He puked up the names and identities of US Intel Agents in the Soviet Union. Convicted of Espionage on Aug 21, 19...
Tuesday, 27 January 2015
Sylvia Plath (October 27, 1932 – February 11, 1963)
Sylvia Plath (October 27, 1932 – February 11, 1963) was an American poet, novelist, and short-story writer. Born in Boston, Massachusetts, she studied at Smith College and Newnham College at the University of Cambridge, before receiving acclaim as a poet and writer.
She married fellow poet Ted Hughes in 1956; they lived together in the United States and then England, and had two children, Frieda and Nicholas. Plath suffered from depression for...
Garry Hoy (1955 – 9 July 1993) was a lawyer for the law firm of Holden Day Wilson in Toronto. He died in an act of accidental autodefenestration.
In an attempt to prove to a group of prospective articling students that the glass in the Toronto-Dominion Centre was unbreakable, Hoy threw himself through a glass wall on the 24th story and fell to his death after the window frame gave way. He had apparently performed this stunt many times in the past, having previously bounced harmlessly off the glass. The event occurred in a small boardroom adjacent to a boardroom where a reception was being...
Osman Eltayeb (Born 1919 - 29 September 2011)
He migrated to Nigeria in 1939 with his uncle Bashir Elrayah who was posted there by the Sudanese Judiciary. He later abandoned his studies to pursue a trading career, and as of the 1950s, Osman Eltayeb was a well established figure in the Nigerian markets- Controlling a large share of the cotton and textile markets. He founded the group Osman Eltayeb and Sons and later diversified into Skin and Hides becoming one of the leading exporters in Africa...
James Churchill Vaughan (30 May 1893 – 1937) was a Nigerian doctor and a prominent political activist.
Vaughan was born in Lagos on 30 May 1893, the son of James Wilson Vaughan. His father was a prosperous Lagos merchant. He was among the first set of scholars at King's College, Lagos when it was founded in 1909. Vaughan and Isaac Ladipo Oluwole were the two first Nigerian students at the University of Glasgow, studying medicine there from 1913 to 1918, when they graduated with medical degrees. The two students were subject to racial prejudice....
Orlando Martins (1899–1985) was a pioneering black actor in film and on stage
Orlando Martins (1899–1985) was a pioneering black actor in film and on stage. In the late 1940s, he was one of England's most prominent and leading black actors,[1] and in a poll conducted in 1947, he was listed among England's top 15 favorite actors.
Martins was born in Lagos, Nigeria, to a civil servant Brazilian father. He was related to the Benjamin Epega family. During World War I he served as a stoker on the RMS Mauretania to avenge German...
Colonel Lawan Gwadabe
Colonel Lawan Gwadabe was Military Administrator of Niger State in Nigeria from December 1987 to January 1992 during the military regime of General Ibrahim Babangida. He was accused of planning a coup against General Sani Abacha in 1995, for which he was jailed, tortured and convicted of treason. After Abacha's death he was granted a state pardon
Gwabade was born in 1949 in Jos, Plateau State, where he was brought up. His father was a Muslim of...
Anthony Joseph "Lucky" Isibor (1 January 1977 – 24 June 2013) was a Nigerian professional footballer.
He was playing with Nigerian Concord FC when he moved to Switzerland in 1995 signing with AC Bellinzona. Between 1996 and 1998 he played with Slovenian FC Koper and Cypriot Enosis Neon Paralimni FC before signing with Italian A.C. Reggiana 1919. After that short spell in Italy he moved to Russia. He made his debut in the Russian Premier League in 1998 for FC Dynamo Moscow. He played 4 games in the UEFA Cup 1998–99 for FC Dynamo Moscow. According...
John Frederick 'Jack' Williams (18 November 1882 – 28 August 1911)
John Frederick 'Jack' Williams (18 November 1882 – 28 August 1911) was a Welsh international rugby union lock who played club rugby for London Welsh.He won four caps for Wales between 1905 and 1906 and most notably was a member of the winning Welsh team against the original All Blacks.
Of all the Welsh players who made up the 1905 "Champions of the World" team, Williams is the most enigmatic. Over his career he achieved by far the lowest number...
Theophilus Adebayo Doherty (Born February 24, 1895)
Theophilus Adebayo Doherty (Born February 24, 1895) was a Nigerian businessman and politician who represented Lagos on the platform of the Nigerian National Democratic Party in the Legislative Council of Nigeria during the nation's colonial era.
In 1933, along with Olatunde Johnson and a few other businessmen, he founded the National Bank of Nigeria. He also became a prominent member of the Nigerian Association of African Importers and Exporters,...
Bernard Olabinjo "Bobby" Benson (11 April 1922 - 14 May 1983)
Bernard Olabinjo "Bobby" Benson (11 April 1922 - 14 May 1983) was an entertainer and musician who had considerable influence on the Nigerian music scene, introducing big band and Caribbean idioms to the Highlife style of popular West African music.
Bernard Olabinjo Benson was born on 11 April 1922 in Ikorodu, Lagos State. While at secondary school he also learned tailoring, but after leaving school he became a boxer for a brief period, and then...
Monday, 26 January 2015
Samuel Jereton Mariere
Samuel Jereton Mariere (1907 – 9 May 1971) was the First Governor of the former Midwest State of Nigeria from Feb 1964 to Jan 1966.
He was also the first chancellor of the University of Lagos, Akoka, Lagos and the first president of the Christian Council of Nigeria.In 1935 Mariere was elected secretary-general of the Urhobo Progressive Union, an association created in 1931 to articulate and chart a direction for the Urhobo people. He was subsequently...
Guru Maharaj Ji
Guru Maharaj Ji, born Mohammed Ajirobatan Ibrahim, is a spiritual leader in Nigeria. He once lived in Festac Town. He has declared himself to be the Perfect Living Master, Guru Maharaj Ji, and is also called the "Black Jesus". He says that he has power over all illnesses and all problems affecting humanity.
Ibrahim comes from Oyo State. He worked for Nigeria Airways and travelled to India and London.Maharaj Ji leads a communitarian group variously...
Augustus Meredith Adisa Akinloye (August 19, 1916 – September 18, 2007)
Augustus Meredith Adisa Akinloye (August 19, 1916 – September 18, 2007), popularly known as A.M.A, was a Nigerian lawyer, politician and the Seriki of Ibadanland, thus making him a Yoruba tribal aristocrat.
Legal career:
Akinloye read law at the London School of Economics between 1946 and 1948. Upon his return to Nigeria, he briefly worked as a lawyer before venturing into politics.
First Republic:
Akinloye was instrumental to the formation...
Sunday, 25 January 2015
Bisi Ezerioha (born January 6, 1972)
Bisi Ezerioha (born January 6, 1972) a.k.a. Ndubisi Ezerioha, is a professional racing driver, engine builder, engineer, and industrialist. He is involved in import drag racing, and currently pilots a 2006 Honda Insight in the pro stock ranks of IDRA (battle of the imports), IDRC and CMI series. Bisi has built and driven the fastest and quickest carbureted FWD in the world. He is the current CEO and chief engineer for Bisimoto Engineering.
With...
NOTABLE NIGERIAN FOOTBALLER: PHILIP OSONDU
Philip Osondu was named Most Valuable player at the FIFA U16 World Cup.
At the time, he was 16 years old. When he first got invited to the
Eagles in 1981, Philip Osondu was in the same team but both got dropped
after the first phase of camping before qualifiers for the 1982 Africa
Cup of Nations and World Cup began.
However, Osondu, after a
sparkling performance at the U16 World Cup in 1987, was signed on by
Anderlecht and was supposed to...
Prince Nico Mbarga (1 January 1950 – 24 June 1997)
Prince Nico Mbarga (1 January 1950 – 24 June 1997) was a highlife musician, born to a Nigerian mother and a Cameroonian father in Abakaliki, Nigeria. He is renowned for his hit song "Sweet Mother", recorded with his band Rocafil Jazz.
He played the xylophone, conga, drums, and electric guitar in school bands and he made his professional debut as a member of a hotel band, the Melody Orchestra, in 1970.Although he only recorded one significant...
Chief Frederick Rotimi Alade Williams, QC, SAN (December 16, 1920 – March 26, 2005)
Chief Frederick Rotimi Alade Williams, QC, SAN (December 16, 1920 – March 26, 2005) was a prominent Nigerian lawyer who was the first Nigerian to become a Senior Advocate of Nigeria. In the 1950s, he was a member of the Action Group and subsequently became the minister for local government and Justice. He was the president of the Nigerian Bar Association in 1959, the association is the leading body for lawyers in the country. He left politics in...
Lamidi Ariyibi Akanji Adedibu
Lamidi Ariyibi Akanji Adedibu (24 October 1920 – 11 June 2008) was an aristocratic noting power broker in Oyo State, Nigeria. Former President Olusegun Obasanjo described him as the "father of the PDP" The Ibadan man.Adedibu was born on October 24, 1920 at Oja-Oba, Ibadan, a member of the Olupoyi chieftaincy ruling house.Adedibu entered politics in the 1950s, when he became a member of the Ibadan People's Party, and then joined the Action Group...
Chief Adegoke "Penkelemesi" Adelabu (September 3, 1915 – March 20, 1958
Gbadamosi Adegoke Adelabu (September 3, 1915 – March 20, 1958) was an important politician from Ibadan in the middle part of the 20th century. He was a self made man born into a humble family, but became an influential figure in Nigerian politics. He attended Government College, Ibadan and eventually became a business man. His successful political career was cut short when he was killed in a car crash, not long before Nigeria gained independence...
Saturday, 24 January 2015
THE ASABA MASSACRE: OCT 1967.
The Asaba massacres occurred in early October 1967, during the Nigerian Civil War, fought over the secession of Biafra (the former Eastern Region of Nigeria). Biafran troops invaded the Midwest Region of Nigeria, to the west of the River Niger, in early August, 1967. They spread west, taking Benin City and reaching as far as Ore, where they were pushed back by the Nigerian Second Division, under the command of Col. Murtala Muhammed.
The Federal...
Friday, 23 January 2015
NIGERIAN SERIAL KILLER: Stephen Akinmurele
Stephen Akinmurele was a suspected serial killer, of Nigerian descent, charged with murdering five elderly people between 1995 and 1998. The case is noted for Akinmurele's long-standing hatred of elderly people. Akinmurele committed suicide before his trial though confessed to a number of the murders. Police believe he may have also been responsible for two further killings.
All of the victims in the case were elderly with the lead investigator...
Sabena’s OO –SJK B707-329C
Sabena’s OO –SJK B707-329C (here in BRU on 23 March 1968) crashed 8 miles from Lagos, on 13 July 1968, after a cargo flight from Brussels. Five crew and two pax were killed. The reason why the aircraft descended below its minimum safe altitude has not been determined. Latter report could feed the hypothesis that it might have been carrying weapons which caught fire during the Biafra-Nigerian War. ...
Marshal of the Royal Air Force Hugh Montague Trenchard, 1st Viscount Trenchard Bt GCB OM GCVO DSO (3 February 1873 – 10 February 1956)
Marshal of the Royal Air Force Hugh Montague Trenchard, 1st Viscount Trenchard Bt GCB OM GCVO DSO (3 February 1873 – 10 February 1956) was a British officer who was instrumental in establishing the Royal Air Force. He has been described as the Father of the Royal Air ForceHugh Trenchard in Nigeria:Hugh Trenchard saw service in Nigeria from 1903 to 1910 where he was involved in efforts to bring the interior under settled British rule and quell inter-tribal...
The Biafran Airlift 1967-1970
The Biafran Airlift was an international humanitarian relief effort that transported food and medicine to Biafra during the 1967-70 secession war from Nigeria (Nigerian Civil War). It was the largest civilian airlift, and after the Berlin airlift of 1948-49 the largest non-combatant airlift of any kind, ever carried out. The airlift was largely a series of joint efforts by Protestant and Catholic church groups, and other non-governmental organizations...
Thursday, 22 January 2015
Victor Banjo (April 1, 1930-September 22, 1967)
Victor Banjo (April 1, 1930-September 22, 1967) was a Colonel in the Biafran Army and is best known for his coup plot against Biafran President Odumegwu Ojukwu.
Lt Col Victor Adebukunola Banjo, was the first Nigerian Director of the Electrical and Mechanical Engineering Corps of the Nigerian Army. He joined the Army in 1953 as Warrant Officer 52 and he was the sixteenth Nigerian to be commissioned as an officer. (NA 16). A product of the Royal...
Bruce Baruch Mayrock (6 May 1949 – 30 May 1969)
Bruce Baruch Mayrock (6 May 1949 – 30 May 1969) from Old Westbury, New York was a student at Columbia University who set himself ablaze at the premises of the United Nations Headquarters in New York on 29 May 1969, to protest genocide against the nation and people of Biafra in the Nigerian Civil War.
Mayrock doused himself with a flammable liquid and set himself afire on the lawn outside the U.N. building. The fire was spotted by United Nations...
Eugene Akosa Keazor CPM (7 July 1907 – 1975)
Eugene Akosa Keazor CPM (7 July 1907 – 1975) was a Nigerian police officer. From 1959 until Nigeria's independence the next year he held the most senior police rank ever held by an African in the British colony, retiring in 1964. It is also reputed that at many stages in his career, he was one of the most senior Indigenous Police Officers in the British Colonies.
Keazor was born in Obosi, Eastern Nigeria (in what is now Anambra State) on 7 July...
UNSOLVED MURDER DEPARTMENT: Funsho Williams (May 9, 1948 – July 27, 2006) was a Nigerian civil servant and politician.
Born Anthony Olufunsho Williams in Lagos, he attended the St. Paul's Catholic school at Ebute Metta and later St Gregory's College, Lagos. In 1968 he started at the University of Lagos, attaining a degree in civil engineering. He then went on to attend the New Jersey Institute of Technology for his Master's degree.Civil Service careerIn 1974 Williams returned to Nigeria and joined the Lagos State civil service. He spent the next 17 years working...
Wednesday, 21 January 2015
Operation Tail-Wind (January 7 – 12, 1970)
Operation Tail-Wind (January 7 – 12, 1970) was the final military conflict between Nigeria and Biafra. The operation took place in the towns of Owerri and Uli, both of which were captured by Nigerian forces. The operation ended with General Odumegwu Ojukwu fleeing to the Ivory Coast and then president of Biafra Philip Effiong surrendering to Olusegun Obasanjo.
On May 30, 1967 Odumegwu Ojukwu declared the Republic of Biafra independent from Nigeria....
Priya Ramrakha (1935 – 2 October 1968)
Priya Ramrakha (1935 – 2 October 1968) was a Kenyan photojournalist of Indian background and one of the first Africans to be given a contract by LIFE and TIME magazines. After his education at the Art Center College of Los Angeles (arranged by Eliot Elisofon).
Ramrakha began work at LIFE. In 1963, Ramrakha returned to Africa to cover the independence movement in his native Kenya as one of East Africa's first indigenous photojournalists. Ramrakha...
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