Abebe Bikila Abebe Bikila Abebe Bikila (; August 7, 1932 – October 25, 1973) was an Ethiopian marathon runner. A double Olympic marathon champion, he won the first at the 1960 Summer Olympics in Rome while running barefoot, setting a world record. He is Africa's first world record breaking athlete in any sport and the first sub-Saharan African Olympic gold medallist. At the 1964 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, Abebe became the first athlete to successfully defend an Olympic marathon title, breaking his own world record in the process. He was a member of the Ethiopian Imperial Guard, an elite infantry division that
History of glass in sub-Saharan Africa soda-alumina (abbreviated m-Na-Al or mNa) chemical composition of most Trade Wind Beads found in Sub-Saharan regions suggests a connection to the mineral-soda sources and alumina rich sand ubiquitous in India; however, there is no archaeological evidence to support this hypothesis to date.3 Other analysts propose a Middle Eastern, Venetian and/or Portuguese origin for the Trade Wind beads found in Sub-Saharan regions. European nations became increasingly involved in the glass bead trade with Africa which consequently aided in the foreign exploitation of natural resources, including slaves. Because Westerners viewed Africans as “the uncivilised of the World,”7 glass beads known crudely as