Timelines help to provide historical context to the lives of Icons featured in 20 Women Icons of Sierra Leone: Who Shaped History. Further reading includes references and list of sources recommended for additional research. They include journal articles, books, and more by Historians, Writers, and others who have written about Sierra Leone history and related subjects.
Timeline & key dates
Queen yema cumba
1540s
Queen Macarico died, after leading the Mane Invasions, which eventually invaded Sierra Leone resulting in several of Sierra Leone’s modern-day ethnic groups.1714
The slave-trading fort at York Island, along the Sherbro River, was abandoned. A second fort at Bunce Island was abandoned around the 1840s.1760
Elizabeth Cleveland Hardcastle and her niece, Catherine Cleveland, relocate to Charleston, South Carolina from Sherbro Island as free women.1791
John Kizell, a Sherbro native who had been enslaved in South Carolina, returned with almost 1200 black settlers from America to establish the settlement of Freetown.1853
Anti-slave trade treaty of Bompeh, Plantain Islands, and Sherbro Country was signed by Canreba Caulker, Thomas Stephen Caulker and other Sherbro Chiefs.
Mary Perth
1718
A ship called Margaret, with about 100 enslaved African captives, was taken from Bunce Island, Sierra Leone to Annapolis, Maryland.1792
Women voted in Freetown, in the elections of Tythingmen and Hundredors. These were officials who represented the settler community in Freetown.1806
Following the Clapham Academy, several mission schools operated by Missionaries were established between 1806 and 1819, in the Gambia, Guinea and Sierra Leone.1820
Most of the mission schools had failed, and the CMS turned its focus to Sierra Leone, mainly the CMS Institution at Regent. This eventually evolved into Fourah Bay College.1920
After over one hundred years since women voted in Freetown, the 19th Amendment was passed in the US, giving women the right to vote there.
Betsy Carew
1794
African Americans settlers, Sophia Small, Martha Hazeley, and Mary Perth were some of the first shop owners in Freetown.1839
A few Yoruba recaptives in Freetown bought a ship and sailed back to the Niger coast. They later invited the CMS in Freetown to start a mission in Abeokuta.1860s
Sierra Leonean women dominated the kola nut trade. Many Liberated African women capitalized on the links between their countries of origin and Sierra Leone.1888
25-year old Elizabeth Cole from a village in the peninsula, was a known Trader in Senehun, with Madam Yoko as her Landlord.1996
Sierra Leone Market Women’s Association (SLWMA) is co-founded by Haja Marie Bob Kandeh.
Sarah Margru Kinson
1833
Oberlin College, Ohio, founded on the basis of higher education for both genders. The first African American woman, Mary Jane Peterson, graduated in 1862, almost 2 decades after Sarah Margru Kinson.1846
American Missionary Association is established by black and white Abolitionists after their collective success during the Amistad case in the U.S. Supreme Court.1850s
Harriet Tubman begins her efforts with the Underground Railroad.1861
American Civil War begins. The Amistad case has been suggested by some historians as one of the leading factors.1880s
The Mendi Mission at Mo Tappan lasted for over 40 years, from 1842 until it was transferred over to the United Brethren Church in the early 1880s.
Edna Elliott-Horton
1867
Howard University in Washington D.C. receives its charter. Hundreds of freed blacks in America were educated there soon after.1908
Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority is established at Howard University by 9 students. It is currently a global organization with over 300,000 members.1913
Delta Sigma Theta Sorority is established at Howard University, by 22 female students. The sorority’s mission was aimed towards public service.1929
Agnes Yewanda Savage, of Nigerian-Scottish-Sierra Leonean ancestry becomes 1st West African woman to receive a University degree in medicine.1931
Stella Ralph Thomas (nee Boyle) was part of the inaugural meeting of the League of Coloured Peoples in the UK.
Lati Hyde-Forster
1810s
At the CMS Canofee mission school, around Guinea, Souma and Anna Benigna, both Susu, and Mary, a Temne, aged around 9-12. entered the school between 1810 and 1812.1959
Mathora Secondary School for Girls is established in Magburaka, in Northern Sierra Leone.1976
Muriel Alice Ayodele Fitzjohn was a founding member of the Sierra Leone Association of University Women (SLAUW). From 1961 to 1965 she served as Principal and Vice-Principal of Harford School in Moyamba.1978
Haja Alari Cole is a founding Principal of the Sierra Leone Muslim Women’s Educational Institute. It was supported by the Kankalay Islamic Mission.1998
Dr. Bidemi Carrol, as a student of the Annie Walsh Memorial School, was the highest performing student in West Africa, for the WAEC GCE O’ Levels, scoring distinction in all subjects.
Ethel Ashwood
1840
Sierra Leonean traders from the colony, including women began to move further into the Southern region to trade on the bank of the Sewa River.1860s
Sierra Leonean women traded largely in palm oil, cotton goods, kola nuts, tobacco, liquor, salt, and benniseed markets.1940s
Red Lion Bakery was formerly called Ashwood, Sons and Daughters (ASSADS).1952
Market women, Sukainatu Bangura and Yankaday Kargbo established an informal cooperative society at King Jimmy Market and Kissy Road Market. It provided funding for Marketwomen.2012
Fatima Sesay founded Unimax (SL) LTD., likely the first local delivery and courier service company in Sierra Leone.
Constance Agatha Cummings-John
1875
Several traders from Freetown sent a petition to the Colonial Administration requesting expansion of the colony’s trading boundaries into the Sierra Leone hinterland. This helped to link people of the Colony and the Protectorate.1893
Freetown Municipality Ordinance established provisions for Mayor, Aldermen, and Councillors. Freetown was declared a Municipal City, one of the oldest in West Africa.1951
Constance Cummings-John organized the Sierra Leone Women’s Movement with Haja Sukainatu Bangura, Lottie Hamilton-Hazeley, Hannah Benka-Coker, Nanah Turay and others.2001
50/50 Group for the advancement of women in Sierra Leone is established by Nemata Majeks-Walker and other Sierra Leonean women.2014
Powerwomen 232 Sierra Leone, founded to advance leadership and professional development of women in Sierra Leone.
Frances Claudia Wright
1787
Chief Naimbana required a second treaty on land grants for the Province of Freedom to be made with him in 1788. He declined the first treaty made with his local ruler King Tom in 1787.1943
Stella Thomas, born in Nigeria to parents of Sierra Leonean heritage, became the first female magistrate in Nigeria.1968
Agnes Macaulay is sworn in as the first female Puisne Judge in Sierra Leone. Almost 30 years later, Patricia Macaulay became the first female Justice of the Supreme Court of Sierra Leone.2017
Justice Glenna Thompson was sworn in as Justice of the Supreme Court.2018
Dr. Priscilla Schwartz (nee Fofanah) became Sierra Leone’s first female Attorney-General. She helped draft the statutes of the UN Special Court of Sierra Leone.
Madam Ella Koblo Gulama
1924
The Sierra Leone Constitution introduced provisions for Paramount Chiefs from the Sierra Leone Protectorate to gain representation in the Legislative Council.1950s
Madam Ella Koblo Gulama, Constance Cummings-John and Etta Harris were members of the United Front Delegation to London to negotiate Sierra Leone’s Independence.1961
Sierra Leone gained its Independence from Britain and ceased to be a British Colony. The country became a Republic 10 years later.2005
Ellen Johnson Sirleaf became the first woman elected Head of State in Africa.2005
Christiana Thorpe becomes the first woman Chief Electoral Commissioner.
Nana Turay
1861
Big Market was built as a vegetable market. It grew and became a market of local artisan goods. The Garrison Street Market was built a year later as a meat market.1950s
Agnes Tagoe Quarcoopome, known as Ghana’s Market Queen, mobilized widespread support of Marketwomen for Kwame Nkrumah during his campaign.1950
Haja Sukainatu Bangura served as Vice Chairwoman of the SLWM for at least a decade.1995
The Sierra Leone Women’s Peace Movement held a major public demonstration with thousands of women marching in support of peace and the end of the civil war.2019
The Women on Boards Network SL (WOBNSL) was launched to promote the participation of women on boards and in leadership positions in Sierra Leone.
Fatmatta Jarri
1950s
Bibi Titi Mohammed brought 5,000 women into the movement towards independence in Tanzania. The period experienced increased efforts of women throughout the continent, mobilizing and creating opportunities for women’s participation and representation in governance.1993
Federation of Muslim Women’s Associations in Sierra Leone (FOMWASAL) was founded.1996
Campaign for Good Governance was co-founded by Zainab Bangura. She helped fight for the democratic rights of women and other citizens.2010
Dr. Fatmatta Taqi presented a dissertation on “Breaking Barriers: Women in Transition (An investigation into the new emerging social sub group of professional Muslim women in Sierra Leone)”.2014
Dr. Fuambai Ahmadu becomes one of the youngest Presidents of the Kono Union Association, one of the community organizations in the Diaspora.
Dr. June Holst=Roness
1945
The National School of Midwifery was founded after a training program at Connaught Hospital.1960
The Planned Parenthood Association in Sierra Leone was established. It joined the International Planned Parenthood Federation in 1968.1994
Dr. Olayemi Elsie Palmira During, OR MB BS DPH DCH passed away. She was the first female Pediatrician in Sierra Leone.2014
Boyama Gladys Katingor becomes the Head of Midwives at Wellbody Clinic in Kono. Wellbody Clinic serves over 20,000 patients yearly across its locations in Sierra Leone.2021
Sierra Leone’s 1st postgraduate residency training program in Obstetrics & Gynecology was launched by Mama-Pikin Foundation, led by Dr. Fatu Forna and her husband, Dr. Shekou Sesay.
Nancy Nicholas
1889
Bo Town’s modern infrastructure began with the Sierra Leone Government Railway in 1889. The Clock Tower in Bo remains one of the most iconic civic monuments in the city.1898
Under Sophia Neale Caulker (Yemi Bei/Madam Chief), Kagboro district and Shenge/Plantain Chiefdom were united.1961
A Durbar, an official reception by all Paramount Chiefs, for Queen Elizabeth II was held at the Bo Coronation field. It included many cultural dance groups.1964
Njala University, the second largest University in Sierra Leone, is established by an Act of Parliament. Its main campus is at Njala, Moyamba District, with a second campus in Bo.2010
Mama Yeanoh Kakpa was elected the first female Town Chief of Mandu, Valunia Chiefdom, in Bo.
Joy Samake
1619
In “House of Stones: Memorial Art of Fifteenth Century Sierra Leone”, Frederick Lamp wrote that in 1619, a French General visited the Temne, along the Peninsula, and noted his observations of art figurines displayed around the village.1958
Miranda Olayinka Burney-Nicol became the Government Artist for Sierra Leone. She was the only government official for the Arts for a decade.1987
Sarian Bouma established her company, Capitol Hill Building Maintenance Inc. It became a multi-million dollar company, with contracts at the White House in the U.S.2004
Cassandra Garber founded the Krio Descendants Yunion and remained President for 16 years. Each year she produced an Almanac of notable men and women.2008
Brigadier-General Kestoria Kabia of the Republic of Sierra Leone Armed Forces became the first female Infantry Officer to reach this army rank in West Africa.
Haja Posseh Njie
1915
Young Women’s Christian Association (YWCA) in Sierra Leone was founded.1962
Mrs. Murrieta Olu-Williams is recorded by several writers as the first female Permanent Secretary in Africa, the highest Professional Civil Servant designation in Government.1983
Sierra Leonean recipes have been published by Sierra Leoneans such as Pamela Green (1983), Muriel Davies (1996), Rachel Massaquoi (2011), Renata Mang-Kaprr Kamara (2020) and Maimuna Burnette (2021).1992
Forum for African Women Educationalists (FAWE) was founded by five women Ministers of education. It has thirty-four National Chapters in Sub-Saharan Africa, including Sierra Leone.2012
Fashion brands such as Jenneh Amara-Bangali’s Swank Couture (2005), Mary-Ann Kai Kai’s Madam Wokie (2009) and Isatu Harrison’s Izelia (2014) are established in Sierra Leone, reviving Sierra Leone’s traditional fabric and nurturing talent, especially women and girls.
Jeillo Edwards
1934
Josephine Baker is the first black woman to star in a major motion picture. Five years later, Hattie McDaniel, an African American, is the first black woman to win an Oscar for Best Supporting Actress.1963
A National Theatre League was established, incorporating many amateur theatre groups, including the Sierra Leone Players, Fourah Bay College Dramatic Society, and others.1966
”Black Girl”, a Senegalese film is considered to be the first Sub-Saharan African film by an African Director to get International acclaim.1990
Sierra Leonean, Mahen Bonetti founded the African Film Festival in New York. It has bridged African cinema and the world for over 30 years.2003
Sierra Leonean Actress, Nzinga Blake, along with her co-host of the TV show, Fridays, became the first live humans featured on Cartoon Network.
Stella Jawara
1956
After returning to Sierra Leone in 1956, Talabi Lucan co-hosted several programs at the Sierra Leone Broadcasting Service, including Letter Box and Women’s View-Point. She later published several textbooks on Sierra Leone history.1950s
Talented women Broadcasters such as Hannah Neale and Antonia French were well known media personalities during the early years of the Sierra Leone Broadcasting Service.2005
Isha Sesay joined CNN and later became an award-winning Journalist, Correspondent and Anchor for CNN International.2009
The Vickie Remoe Show begins production by Vickie Remoe, Sierra Leonean Journalist and Marketing Specialist. She later produced a series of programs exploring the history and culture of Sierra Leone.2017
BBC appointed Sierra Leonean Journalist, Mayeni Jones as its Nigeria Correspondent, working across TV, online, and radio.
Ramatu Fornah
1995
The formation of Sierra Leone Women’s Movement for Peace (SLWMP) led to a peace march in 1995, led by Pediatrician, Fatmata Boie-Kamara. The march drew thousands of women from all walks of life.1996
Rev. Dr. Marie Barnett, a religious leader and a women’s right activist became the first ordained female Minister in the Evangelical Lutheran Church West Africa.2007
The Gender Laws of Sierra Leone: Domestic Violence Act, Devolution of Estates Act, and the Registration of Customary Marriage and Divorce Act were passed.2009
Elizabeth Kumba Simbiwa Sorgboh Torto is the first woman to stand up to declare herself available for Paramount Chief at the Sewafe Court Barray in the Nimiyama Chiefdom in Kono.2020
Roseline Mansaray, a climate and environmental activist founded Fridays for Future Sierra Leone. She has inspired over 2,500 young people to address climate crisis in Sierra Leone.
Kadija Jalloh
1938
Edna Elliott-Horton, I.T.A. Wallace-Johnson and others launched the Sierra Leone Branch of the West African Youth League (WAYL).2005
Sierra Leone Women Engineers was co-founded by Ing. Trudy Morgan and Ing. Louise Chaytor. Trudy later became the first African woman awarded fellowship of the Institution of Civil Engineers (UK).2008
Ajara Bomah, a young Social Work professional in Atlanta, Georgia, became Chairperson of Youth for Sierra Leone Improvement (YSLI). She later relocated to Sierra Leone and formed Women Mean Business in 2013.2009
Eleanor Thompson led the Sierra Leone Youth Empowerment Conference (SLYEC) that brought together over a hundred young Sierra Leonean professionals in the U.S. and U.K.2014
Following the Ebola pandemic in 2014, Fatou Wurie co-founded the Survivor Dream Project, and led community-based healing and narrative therapy sessions for Ebola survivors.Further Reading
Queen Yema Cumba
Caulker-Burnett, I. (2010). The Caulkers of Sierra Leone: The story of a ruling family and their times. Xlibris.
Steady, F. (2016). Women and leadership in West Africa: Mothering the nation and humanizing the state. Palgrave Macmillan.
Mary Perth
Keefer, K. H. B. (2017). Mission Education in Early Sierra Leone, 1793-1820 [Ph.D. Thesis, York University]. https://yorkspace.library.yorku.ca/xmlui/handle/10315/32117
Betsy Carew
Kup, A. P. (1962). A history of Sierra Leone, 1400-1787. Cambridge University Press.
Sarah Margru Kinson
Bangura, A. K. (2012, Spring). The Life and Times of the Amistad Returnees to Sierra Leone and Their Impact: A Pluridisciplinary Exploration. Africa Update, XIX(2). https://web.ccsu.edu/afstudy/upd19-2.html
Merrill, M. (2003). Sarah Margru Kinson: The two worlds of an Amistad captive. Oberlin Historical and Improvement Organization.
Edna Elliott-Horton
Blyden, N. (2015). (Re) envisioning the African diaspora: Historical memory and cross-fertilization in post-colonial Sierra Leone. In S. Ojukutu-Macauley & I. O. D. Rashid (Eds.), Paradoxes of history and memory in post-colonial Sierra Leone. Lexington Books.
Lati Hyde-Forster
Keefer, K. H. B. (2017). Mission Education in Early Sierra Leone, 1793-1820 [Ph.D. Thesis, York University]. https://yorkspace.library.yorku.ca/xmlui/handle/10315/32117
Ethel Ashwood
Grant, P., Dillsworth, G., Williams, G., & Jones, J. (n.d.). Who was Ethel Thomas? A Tribute by her daughters, the Ashwood sisters. In Builders: The Annie Walsh Story (1849-2009).
Constance Agatha Cummings-John
50/50 Sierra Leone: Gender parity through training and advocacy. (n.d.). 50/50 Group of Sierra Leone. Retrieved October 4, 2021, from http://fiftyfiftysierraleone.org/
Garigue, P. (1953). The West African Students’ Union. A Study in Culture Contact. Africa: Journal of the International African Institute, 23(1), 55–69. https://doi.org/10.2307/1156033
PowerWomen 232, Ariana Diaries, November 29, 2019 https://pw232.com/blog/2019/11/29/cheers-to-5-years-the-making-of-power-women-232/
Wyse, A. J. G. (1987). The Dissolution of Freetown City Council in 1926: A Negative Example of Political Apprenticeship in Colonial Sierra Leone. Africa: Journal of the International African Institute, 57(4), 422–438. https://doi.org/10.2307/1159892
Frances Claudia Wright
Frances Wright: Sierra Leone lawyer who fought for justice. (2010, April 30). The National. https://www.thenationalnews.com/uae/frances-wright-sierra-leone-lawyer-who-fought-for-justice-1.499815
Cole, C. E. O. (1968). The Administration of the Law. In C. Fyfe, E. D. Jones, & Fourah Bay College Institute of African Studies (Eds.), Freetown: A symposium. Sierra Leone University Press.
Josephine Dawuni & Alice Kang. (2015). Her Ladyship Chief Justice: The Rise of Female Leaders in the Judiciary in Africa. Africa Today, 62(2), 45. https://doi.org/10.2979/africatoday.62.2.45
Miatta Maria Samba. (2020). Giraffe Heroes Project. https://www.giraffe.org/miatta-maria-samba
Namati. (n.d.). Legal Access through Women Yearning for Equality Rights and Social Justice
(L.A.W.Y.E.R.S). Namati. Retrieved October 4, 2021, from https://namati.org/network/organization/legal-access-through-women-yearning-for-equality-rights-and-social-justice-l-a-w-y-e-r-s/
Madam Ella Koblo Gulama
Conteh, M. N.-A. (2013). The Institution of Paramount Chieftaincy in Sierra Leone: An Introduction to its History and Electoral Process. https://nec.gov.sl/uploads/files/The%20Institution%20of%20Paramount%20Chieftaincy%20in%20Sierra%20Leone.pdf
Nana Turay
Bangura, J. J. (2012). Gender and ethnic relations in Sierra Leone: Temne women in colonial Freetown. History in Africa: A Journal of Method, 39, 267–292.
Fatmatta Jarri
Taqi, F. B. (2010). Breaking Barriers: Women in Transition (An investigation into the new emerging social subgroup of professional Muslim women in Sierra Leone) [Anglia Ruskin University]. https://arro.anglia.ac.uk/id/eprint/266832/1/Taqi_Breaking_barriers_phd.pdf
Dr. June Holst-Roness
Blyden, S. O. (2006). Sierra Leonean Women in Public Life: A Beacon of Pride, Success & Lessons for an Emerging Generation—AllAfrica.com. https://allafrica.com/stories/200601120434.html
National School of Midwifery. (n.d.). About Us | National School of Midwifery—Sierra Leone. Retrieved October 4, 2021, from http://www.midwiferyschool.sl/about.html
Williams, C. D., Baumslag, N., & Jelliffe, D. B. (1994). Mother and child health: Delivering the services. Oxford University Press.
Nancy Nicholas
Nicholas, P. (n.d.). Nancy Nicholas: A Tribute.
Joy Samake
American Premier with Ballanta Academy of Music’s Star, Joseryl Beckley. (2010, March 2). Awoko Newspaper. https://awokonewspaper.sl/american-premier-with-ballanta-academy-of-musics-star-joseryl-beckley/
Beckley, J. O. L. (2016). African and Western aspects of Ballanta’s Opera “Afiwa” [The University of British Columbia]. https://central.bac-lac.gc.ca/.item?id=TC-BVAU-58802&op=pdf&app=Library&oclc_number=1032914665
Lamp, F. J. (1983). House of Stones: Memorial Art of Fifteenth-Century Sierra Leone. The Art Bulletin, 65(2), 219–237. https://doi.org/10.1080/00043079.1983.10788068
Ojukutu-Macauley, S. (2015). Clapping with one hand: The search for a gendered “province of freedom” in the historiography of Sierra Leone. In S. Ojukutu-Macauley & I. O. D. Rashid (Eds.), Paradoxes of history and memory in post-colonial Sierra Leone. Lexington Books.
Zollner, P. (n.d.). Joy Samake: A Tribute.
Haja Posseh Njie
Yumkella, K. (2010, March 31). Women’s Empowerment and Employment: A tribute to Mrs. Posseh (Beatrice) Njai. The Patriotic Vanguard. http://thepatrioticvanguard.com/women-s-empowerment-and-employment-a-tribute-to-mrs-posseh-beatrice-njai
Jeillo Edwards
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Stella Jawara
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Ramatu Fornah
David Lord (Ed.). (2000). Paying the Price: The Sierra Leone peace process (No. 9; Accord). Conciliation Resources. https://rc-services-assets.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/s3fs-public/AccordInsight_WomenBuildingPeace_SierraLeone.pdf
Kadija Jalloh
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