1861 in South Africa

Events

16 – Roman Rock Lighthouse at the entrance to Simon's Town begins operating after taking 4 years to build.

10 November – Robert T. A. Innes, astronomer and secretary-accountant at the Cape observatory, is born in Edinburgh, Scotland.
Sefako Mapogo Makgatho, the second African National Congress president, is born in GaMphahlele near Pietersburg.

1861 in Africa

Sovereign states	Algeria Angola Benin Botswana Burkina Faso Burundi Cameroon Cape Verde Central African Republic Chad Comoros Democratic Republic of the Congo Republic of the Congo Djibouti Egypt Equatorial Guinea Eritrea Ethiopia Gabon The Gambia Ghana Guinea Guinea-Bissau Ivory Coast (Côte d'Ivoire) Kenya Lesotho Liberia Libya Madagascar Malawi Mali Mauritania Mauritius Morocco Mozambique Namibia Niger Nigeria Rwanda São Tomé and Príncipe Senegal Seychelles Sierra Leone Somalia South Africa South Sudan Sudan Swaziland Tanzania Togo Tunisia Uganda Zambia Zimbabwe

States with limited recognition	Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic Somaliland

Dependencies and other territories	Canary Islands / Ceuta / Melilla / Plazas de soberanía (Spain) Madeira (Portugal) Mayotte / Réunion (France) Saint Helena / Ascension Island / Tristan da Cunha (United Kingdom)