Firsts
Sierra Leone's most widely recorded firsts are in higher education, medicine, culture and international justice. Each entry below states the claim as its source describes it.
1827
Fourah Bay College: the first Western-style university in sub-Saharan Africa
See it:Old Fourah Bay College
1845
CMS Grammar School: described by the school and the 1988 heroes book as the first secondary school in sub-Saharan (or West) Africa; a 2003 almanac lists Liberia's College of West Africa (1833) as older
1849
Annie Walsh Memorial School: described as the oldest girls' secondary school in sub-Saharan Africa
1859
William Broughton Davies and Africanus Horton: among the first West Africans to qualify as doctors
1863
John Ezzidio: first African elected to Sierra Leone's Legislative Council
1884
John Farrell Easmon: credited with naming "blackwater fever" and linking it to malaria
1896
Sir Samuel Lewis: first West African to be knighted
1921
Kikakui: an indigenous writing system for the Mende language, added to the Unicode Standard in 2014
1934
Kykunkor by Asadata Dafora: described as the first opera in the United States with authentic African dance and music
1944
Robert Wellesley-Cole: first Black African Fellow of the Royal College of Surgeons of England
1957–1962
Ella Koblo Gulama: first woman member of the House of Representatives (1957) and first woman cabinet minister (1962)
1966
Constance Cummings-John: first woman Mayor of Freetown
1972
Star of Sierra Leone: the largest alluvial diamond on record (968.9 carats)
2002
Special Court for Sierra Leone: the world's first hybrid tribunal created by UN treaty with a member state
Sources 38
2007–2008
Special Court: first international convictions for recruiting child soldiers, and first ruling that forced marriage is a crime against humanity
2012
Special Court: first conviction of a former head of state by an international tribunal since Nuremberg
2018
David Moinina Sengeh: Sierra Leone's first Chief Innovation Officer
2025
Gola-Tiwai Complex: Sierra Leone's first UNESCO World Heritage Site
See it:Tiwai Island Wildlife SanctuaryGola Rainforest National Park
Known for
Freedom heritage
Freetown was founded as a home for freed people
Where to see it: Freetown old town, Settler Town, Cotton Tree site
Transatlantic memory
Bunce Island and the Gullah connection to South Carolina and Georgia
Where to see it: Boat trip up the Sierra Leone River
See it:Bunce Island
The Amistad
Sengbe Pieh's revolt and the US Supreme Court ruling of 1841
Where to see it: Mende heartland; Sulima coast
See it:Sulima
Education
Freetown's nickname, "Athens of West Africa"
Where to see it: Fourah Bay College, Mount Aureol
Sources 20
Diamonds
World-class alluvial stones since the 1930s
Where to see it: Kono District (Koidu)
Natural harbour
One of the world's largest natural deep-water harbours
Where to see it: Freetown waterfront
Sources 11
Biodiversity
11 primate species on Tiwai Island; pygmy hippos; Western chimpanzees
Where to see it: Tiwai Island, Gola Rainforest
See it:Tiwai Island Wildlife SanctuaryGola Rainforest National Park
Krio culture
A blend of African, settler and Victorian traditions
Where to see it: Markets, music, food, festivals
Music
Palm-wine, maringa and gumbe traditions
Where to see it: Live music in Freetown
Gara cloth
Indigo-dyed textile worn across all ethnic groups
Where to see it: Markets across the country
Sources 125