Wangari Muta Maathai died on 25 September 2011 in Nairobi, aged 71. A Kenyan environmentalist and political activist, Maathai was the first woman in East and Central Africa to earn a doctorate, in veterinary anatomy, and she taught at the University of Nairobi. In 1977 she founded the Green Belt Movement, which encouraged rural women to plant trees to restore degraded land, creating jobs and fighting soil erosion, and which planted tens of millions of trees. She spoke out against land grabbing and the authoritarian government of Daniel arap Moi, and was repeatedly arrested and beaten. She later served in parliament and as an assistant minister. In 2004 she became the first African woman to receive the Nobel Peace Prize.
Before and after
- 7 September 20112011 Lokomotiv Yaroslavl air disaster
- 15 September 2011Discovery of Kepler-16 b
- 17 September 2011Occupy Wall Street
- from 22 September 2011 to 21 June 2016Premiere of Person of Interest
- 25 September 2011Death of Wangari Muta Maathai
- 27 September 2011Discovery of S/2011 J 1
- 27 September 2011Discovery of S/2011 J 2
- 29 September 2011Launch of Tiangong-1
- from 2 October 2011 to 26 April 2020Premiere of Homeland
More in Wars, politics & history
- 15 August 1947India and Pakistan become independent
- from 25 June 1950 to 27 July 1953Korean War
- from 1 November 1955 to 30 April 1975Vietnam War
- from 16 May 1966 to 6 October 1976Cultural Revolution
- 20 February 2014Russo-Ukrainian war
- 31 January 2020Brexit
The era
This moment belongs to the Contemporary world (1945 CE to today), the world since 1945. You can also browse everything in the 21st century.