11 JULY 1837:
Emperor Yohannes IV – who ruled Ethiopia from 1872-1889 - was born on this day. 

23 JULY 1892:
Emperor Haile Selassie – the last Emperor of Ethiopia’s Solomonic dynasty – was born on this day.

The heir to a dynasty that traced its origins to the 13th century, and from there by tradition, back to King Solomon and the Queen of Sheba, Haile Selassie is a defining figure in both Ethiopian and African history.

At the League of Nations in 1936, the Emperor's condemnation of the use of chemical weapons against his people was a pivotal moment in the onset of World War II. His internationalist views led to Ethiopia becoming a charter member of the United Nations, and his political thought and experience in promoting multilateralism and collective security have proved influential and enduring.

Haile Selassie is revered as the religious symbol for God incarnate among the Rastafarian movement; the number of followers is estimated between 200,000 and 800,000. Begun in Jamaica in the 1930s, the Rastafarian movement perceives Haile Selassie as a messianic figure who will lead the peoples of Africa and the African diaspora to a golden age of peace, righteousness, and prosperity.      

29 JULY 1936:
Bishop Abune Petros was executed by Fascist Italy on this day. Abune Petros was a bishop of the Ethiopian Orthodox Church in much of the central and Eastern part of Ethiopia during the late 1920s and early 1930s. When Fascist Italy invaded Ethiopia in 1935, Abune Petros went to the frontline to help the wounded, consecrate the dead and preach the Gospel. During that time he witnessed firsthand how the invading army - with the help of nerve gas and technologically advanced weaponry - burned down many villages and indiscriminately killed innocent civilians.

In the midst of the invasion, Abune Petros went to the monastery church of Debre Libanos to urge the priests and monks to fast and pray for the mercy of God to the people of Ethiopia . He continued his teachings and preaching to the people to stand-up for their belief and conviction. He went on further and preached against Italy 's occupation of Ethiopia with terror and violence. He urged the people not to be afraid of the terror and violence but to resist it.

The Italians then arrested him and gave him the ultimatum to stop preaching against the occupation and accept the Italian authorities in Addis Ababa or face imminent execution. Abune Petros refused to comply with the ultimatum and through interpreter gave the following answer to the interrogating officers of the invading army: "The cry of my countrymen who died due to your nerve-gas and terror machinery will never allow my conscious to accept your ultimatum. How can I see my God if I give a blind eye to such a crime." His defiance prompted the Italians to sentence him to death.

Then on 29 July 1936 he was taken to an execution chamber where many people and the Fascist army officers and generals were gathered. When he was told to say his last words, he said the following implausibly courageous words as written in the Ethiopian Orthodox Church newspaper Vol. 1, No. 8.9.10, 1945: “My countrymen do not believe the Fascists if they tell you that the patriots are bandits, the patriots are people who yearn for freedom from the terrors of fascism.

“Bandits are the soldiers who are standing in front of me and you, who come from far away and violently occupy a weak and peaceful country: our Ethiopia . May God give the people of Ethiopia the strength to resist and never bow down to the Fascist army and its violence. May the Ethiopian earth never accept the invading army's rule.”

Upon delivering his final words, Abune Petros was brutally murdered. But Fascist Italy was defeated and driven out of Ethiopia in 1941.