Cheikh Anta Diop: The Great Thinker Awakening African Self-Consciousness

The article is devoted to the analysis of the scientific and political activities of the outstanding African thinker of the 20th century—Cheikh Anta Diop, who is considered the founder of African historical science and a symbol of the African Renaissance. Written in commemoration of the 100th anniversary of his birthday, the paper gives a description of his multidisciplinary scientific activity in both the humanities and the exact sciences. Special attention is paid to his development of various methods of dating archaeological and geological samples, which helped Diop contribute to the study of human origins and the promotion of ideas that Ancient Egypt was inextricably linked with the African people. The paper also analyzes his political activities, from an activist of the student movement for the independence of Black Africa in France to the founder and leader of political parties in Senegal, and his opposition stance towards the political authorities of the country, including President L.S. Senghor—a stance based on his disagreement with the existing political system of Senegal, which he believed to be lacking democracy and independence. The work concludes by stressing the importance of the legacy of the great African thinker for modern historical science and the development of social thought in Africa. His works continue to inspire Africans and people of African descent around the world, despite the negative attitude of some representatives of the European school towards his theory about the origin of human civilization in Africa. In addition to his contribution to world historical science, the paper also analyzes the prospects for the future generation of African researchers who will be following in his footsteps.