1987 — The Assassination of Thomas Sankara

On October 15, 1987, in Ouagadougou, the capital of Burkina Faso, gunmen stormed a meeting and murdered President Thomas Sankara. He was 37 years old. In just four years in power, the man they called Africa's Che Guevara had renamed his country the land of upright people, vaccinated millions of children, planted forests against the desert, and told Africa to stand tall and reject foreign debt.

His old friend Blaise Compaore seized power the same day. But the revolution Sankara planted in the hearts of young Africans could never be buried with him. Four short years had been enough to leave an example that outlived its maker.