Tanzania mourns historian John Iliffe
Professor John Iliffe, who died on August 20, 2026, significantly shaped Tanzanian history studies.
Professor John Iliffe, a historian renowned for his work on Africa, particularly Tanzania, passed away on August 20, 2026. Iliffe joined the University College, Dar es Salaam's history department in 1965, shortly after completing his PhD on German colonialism in Tanganyika. He co-directed a project collecting oral memories of the Maji Maji rebellion across southern Tanzania.
Iliffe's prolific writing covered diverse subjects, including Africa's poor, the HIV/AIDS epidemic, capitalists, and ruling elites. His book 'Africans: The History of a Continent' is a widely used introductory text, with its fourth edition completed just before his death. He was among foreign historians brought to the new department by its first head, Terence Ranger.
The Tanzania National Archives in Dar es Salaam noted Iliffe's frequent use of its documents, with his signature appearing on research sheets from the 1960s and 70s. President Julius Nyerere had called for historians to use oral traditions, a call Iliffe joined by collecting local historical knowledge.
Why it mattersThe work and legacy of Professor John Iliffe, who significantly contributed to Tanzanian historical studies and taught at the University College, Dar es Salaam, are being remembered.