James M. Thaele, radical politician, journalist, teacher and co-founder of the African National Congress (ANC) branch in Cape Town, died in Cape Town. He was born in Basutoland (Lesotho) in 1888. Thaele lost his ANC Western Cape leadership position to A.V. Coto in the 1938 provincial election.

A week long strike by African mineworkers, led by John Beaver (JB) Marks, leader of the African Mineworkers' Union, started on this day. The strike was initiated by the Communist Party of South Africa (CPSA), which was active in distributing pamphlets and other material related to the strike. About 60 000 miners went on strike. Government suppressed the strike by force. According to official figures, nine were killed and 1 248 injured. Fifty-one persons, mainly Communists, were later charged in connection with the strike. They included three Indians, Dr Yusuf Dadoo, J.N. Singh and M.J. Vania. Police also arrested members of the District Committee of the Communist Party in Johannesburg. They were subsequently convicted and given sentences ranging from R30 (or three months) to R100 (or six months). The miners' strike had profound repercussions, which are felt until this day. The intense persecution of workers' organisations, which began during the strike, when trade union and political offices and homes of officials were raided throughout the country, only ceased with the new democratic dispensation in 1994. The most profound result of the strike, however, was the impact it had on the political thinking within the national liberation movement; almost immediately it shifted significantly from a policy of concession to more dynamic and militant forms of struggle. Click here to read our feature on the African Mineworkers' strike.

Speaking at a prayer meeting in New Delhi, Mahatma Karamchand Gandhi called on the South African government to stop the hooliganism by Whites. The authorities warned the Passive Resisters to vacate the Volksrust camp. The Attorney-General for Natal, W. J. McKenzie, appealed to the Europeans not to interfere. Violence against the Resisters stopped only on 24 June when the Smuts government took action after wide protests.

At the annual conference of the African National Congress (ANC) held in Bloemfontein, the document the African's Claim in South Africa, presented by the Atlantic Charter committee which was appointed by ANC president Dr A.B. Xuma, was unanimously adopted. The committee was mandated to study the Atlantic Charter and draft the Bill of Rights.

About 10 000 Afrikaner women, led by Mrs H.C. Steyn, wife of former President M.T. Steyn, marched to the Union Buildings to protest about the South African involvement in World War 2 on the side of Britain. Mrs H.E.C. Armstrong, one of the organisers, wrote a letter to Prime Minister J.C. Smuts, in which she set out the reasons for the protest. A further 3 968 women sent telegrams to Smuts, while 3 829 signed petitions, which were handed to him. They were all united in their request that South Africa should withdraw from the war. The first Afrikaner women march took place on 4 August 1915, to request the release of Gen. C.R. de Wet, an Anglo-Boer War 2 hero.

Major Allister Mackintosh Miller secured a government subsidy and introduced the first official commercial air service in South Africa under the name of Union Airways Company (Pty). On this date the first flight between Maitland and Port Elizabeth left with five bags of mail. The company, with headquarters in Port Elizabeth, flew a regular service to and from Johannesburg, Durban and Cape Town. Its main object was to fly mail to connect with mail-boats. Passenger services were introduced in 1934, especially between Durban and Johannesburg. The service was limited to these two cities at first because of financial constraints. References: Potgieter, D.J. et al. (eds)(1970). Standard Encyclopaedia of Southern Africa, Cape Town: NASOU, v. 1, p. 612. Wallis, F. (2000). Nuusdagboek: feite en fratse oor 1000 jaar, Kaapstad: Human & Rousseau.

On this day in history, the first issue of the weekly periodical TIME appeared on newsstands. The first issue was 32 pages and featured a charcoal sketch of Congressman Joseph Gurney Cannon on the cover. It was the United States' first, modern news magazine. Today, the worldwide news weekly, founded by Henry Luce and Briton Hadden, is printed in several languages. It is one of the most popular magazines in history, with readership topping 4 million, which includes many South African readers. TIME magazine has covered many South African stories, see below for a few TIME covers that documented our history. Source: TIME, South Africa [online]. Available at: time.com [accessed 25 February 2009] Those were the days, 2 March [online]. Available at: 440.coml [accessed 25 February 2009]

The first International Women's Day was launched in several European countries in March 1911. It was celebrated on 19 March and over a million men and women took to the streets in a series of rallies. In addition to the right to vote and to hold public office, they demanded the right to work and an end to discrimination on the job. Since 1917 the date of 8 March was universally accepted as International Women's Day. It has become an occasion marked by women's groups around the world. This day is also commemorated at the United Nations and is designated in many countries as a national holiday. International Women's Day is the story of ordinary women as makers of history; it is rooted in the centuries-old struggle of women to participate in society on an equal footing with men. In ancient Greece, Lysistrata initiated a sexual strike against men in order to end war; during the French Revolution, Parisian women calling for "liberty, equality, fraternity" marched on Versailles to demand women's suffrage. Born at a time of great social turbulence and crisis, International Women's Day inherited a tradition of protest and political activism. In the years before 1910, from the turn of the 20th century, women in industrially developing countries were entering paid work in some numbers. Their jobs were sex segregated, mainly in textiles, manufacturing and domestic services where conditions were wretched and wages worse than depressed. International Women's Day is not celebrated in South Africa. Since 1994, Women's Day is celebrated with a public holiday on the 9th of August. On this day, South Africa remembers the role played by women in the political struggle against apartheid as well as the historic 1956 anti-pass march by thousands of South African women. Visit our feature 'History of Women's struggle in South Africa ' for further information about 9th of August as South African Women's Day

On 20 September 1915 a new battalion consisting of Cape Coloured men, called the Cape Corps was established with the view of being dispatched to East Africa in 1916 to fight on the side of the Allies in World War One. The corps was made up of coloured members of the country's defence force, and at its peak strength it had around 23 000 members. More than 12 000 South African servicemen fought in World War One, and fewer than 4 000 were black, coloured or Indian. The most well-known battle that was fought entirely by the Cape Corps was called the Battle of Square Hill, fought against the Turks. The battle of Square Hill was fought entirely by the Cape Corps squadron, as regulations at the time stated that coloureds could not fight against whites, and the Turks were deemed "non-white". In the battle of Square Hill, the Turkish troops had taken up a post on the hill, making it impossible for British soldiers to pass. They needed to be dislodged. The Cape Corps broke through the enemy's defences in the middle of the night, eventually capturing 8 Turkish officers, 160 soldiers and 181 other Turks as well as an enemy field gun. One Cape Corps member was killed and another wounded. In a second attack at the nearby Kh Jebeit Hill, the Cape Corps faced Turkish forces again during a marathon 12-hour battle. Fifty-one Cape soldiers were killed, a further 101 were wounded and one was captured.

The Women's Memorial was unveiled in Bloemfontein, on the same day as the celebration of Dingaan's Day upon which the Voortrekker victory over the Zulu at Bloodriver (Ncombe) was celebrated. The ceremony, which was attended by 20 000 people from all over the country, was to commemorate 26 251 women and children who died during the Anglo-Boer War 2, mainly in British concentration camps. Many politicians were impressed by the speech of the former Orange Free State president, Mr M.T. Steyn, who was absent from the commemoration due to ill health. The speech was read out to the public by his aide. In his speech Steyn emphasised that the memorial has not been erected here in order to cause pain to any one, or to be an eternal reproach; but it is placed here out of simple piety.