Bernard Dadié

Bernard Binlin Dadié was born in Assinie on January 10, 1916. Working at the Institut Français d'Afrique Noire (IFAN) in Dakar, he threw himself into anti-colonial journalism and was imprisoned for sixteen months in 1949–1950 by colonial administrators.

In 1956 he published his autobiographical masterpiece Climbié, followed by dazzling travel chronicles including Un Nègre à Paris and Patron de New York, as well as powerful plays like Béatrice du Congo. Serving as Minister of Cultural Affairs from 1977 to 1986, Dadié lived past his 103rd birthday, universally revered as the father of Ivorian literature.