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 Empire helped to broaden trade patterns and the introduction of the camel as means of transport significantly fostered the spread of imported goods. European nations entered the African trading market, beginning with Portugal, Italy and Bohemia in the 15th century, followed by the Dutch, English, French, Belgians and Germans. By the 17th century, the Netherlands managed to secure an impressive monopoly on the glass bead exchange with Sub-Saharan Africa. A Dutch merchant and entrepreneur named Sir Nicholas Crisp is recorded to have been awarded a patent “for the sole making and vending of beads and beugles to trade to Guinea,”