Wangari Maathai, the first African woman to win the Nobel peace prize, died on Sunday night of cancer. She was 71.
A towering figure in Kenya, Maathai was renowned as a fearless social activist and an environmental crusader. Her Green Belt Movement, which she founded in 1977, planted tens of millions of trees.
Maathai's death was confirmed in a statement on the movement's website.
Maathai was a pioneer from an early age and in many spheres. After winning a scholarship to study in the US, she returned to a newly independent Kenya, becoming the first woman in east and central Africa to obtain a PhD. Maathai was also the first woman professor the University of Nairobi. The Guardian – More here