John Chilembwe
Independence leader in Malawi · Academics · Lived 1871 to 1915 · aged 44
John Chilembwe was a Baptist pastor, educator and revolutionary from Nyasaland who trained as a minister in the United States, returning to Nyasaland in 1901.
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Chilembwe and his wife Ida with their child, Emma, photographed by Mungo Murray Chisuse
John Chilembwe, with his wife Ida, and one of their children. Date unknown.![The last known photo of John Chilembwe (left, with British missionary John Chorley "Sir Potts the 4th" on the right) taken in 1914 about a year before his death by Mrs Chorley[48]](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/d1/John_Chilembwe_%282%29.png/500px-John_Chilembwe_%282%29.png)
The last known photo of John Chilembwe (left, with British missionary John Chorley "Sir Potts the 4th" on the right) taken in 1914 about a year before his death by Mrs Chorley[48]
Two-thousand-kwacha banknote featuring Chilembwe's portrait on the obverseAbout this person
He was an early figure in the resistance to colonialism in Nyasaland, opposing both the treatment of Africans working in agriculture on European-owned plantations and the colonial government's failure to promote the social and political advancement of Africans. Soon after the outbreak of the First World War, Chilembwe organised an unsuccessful armed uprising against colonial rule, and was killed shortly thereafter by colonial forces. Today, Chilembwe is celebrated as a hero of independence in some African countries, and John Chilembwe Day is observed annually on 15 January in Malawi.
