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.

Mahatma Gandhi supported the resolution of the African People's Organisation (APO) to declare the day of arrival of the Prince of Wales in Cape Town as a day of mourning, in protest against the South Africa Act's disenfranchisement of Indians, Coloureds and Africans in the upcoming Union of South Africa.

George Frederick Labram, manufacturer of a cannon popularly known as 'Long Cecil' in the De Beers' workshop in Kimberley, was killed by a shell from a Boer 'Long Tom' cannon during the siege of Kimberley. Labram, who was chief mechanical engineer at the De Beers Consolidated Mines, manufactured the gun from steel shafting. Within twenty-four days it was shelling the Boer lines. Labram was one of the defendants when Kimberley was under siege by the Boers during Anglo-Boer War 2. He died only a few days before the siege was lifted.

The 104mm field-gun designed by American George Labram and manufactured in the De Beers workshop in Kimberley, known as 'Long Cecil' after Cecil John Rhodes, was test fired for the first time at Boer forces during the Siege of Kimberley. Rhodes, who had taken interest in the gun, was present along with eminent local figures and senior officers of the British garrison. He extended an invitation to Lt-Col Chamier, as the senior gunner, to fire the first round. However, the first round was fired by Mrs Pickering, wife of the Secretary of the De Beers Company, after Chamier had turned down Rhodes' invitation on the ground that, as a member of the Royal Regiment, he was permitted to fire only such guns as had been officially approved of by the War Office and 'Long Cecil' definitely did not fall within this category. The round landed and burst in the middle of a safe and quiet Boer laager at the Intermediate Pumping Station, causing considerable alarm and dismay to the Boers. 'Long Cecil' did more firing whilst in service than any other gun in Kimberley throughout the whole period of the siege, certainly not a bad performance for a home-made gun!

On 18 May 1899, a statue of the first European to settle at the Cape, Jan van Riebeeck, was unveiled. The statue stands on Heerengracht Street in Cape Town. It was sculpted in bronze by John Tweed and donated to the city by Cecil John Rhodes, a politician and financier of the late 19th century. Near this statue, at the bottom end of Adderley Street, are statues of Bartholomew Dias, a Portuguese explorer who was the first European to reach the Cape of Good Hope in 1487, and Maria van Riebeeck, wife of Jan van Riebeeck. These statues were donated by the Portuguese and Dutch governments respectively in 1952, for Cape Town's tercentenary celebrations. References: This day in History: 18 May [online] Available at: news24.com [Accessed 11 may 2009] Van Riebeeck Statues [online] Available at: mytravelguide.com [Accessed 11 may 2009]

On 10 October 1893, Natal's first ministry was formed, with Sir John Robinson as Prime Minister, Minister of Education, and Colonial Secretary. Robinson, who is regarded as a loyal Natalian, first came to South Africa as a child in 1850. He later became a journalist and political leader, and was joint founder and the first editor of The Natal Mercury, together with his father, George Robinson. He became the owner of the publication in 1855. After devoting his time to the newspaper, Robinson went on to play an important role in Natal politics for over three decades. He was elected to the Legislative Council in 1863, and attended the South African federation conference in 1876. He also attended the Colonial Conference of 1887 and the South Africans customs conference in 1888. In 1889 he was knighted for his efforts. Due to ill health he resigned from office in 1897, and wrote an autobiography called A life time in South Africa in 1900. He died on 5 November 1903 in Durban, the capital city of present day KwaZulu-Natal.

Harold Cressy, co-founder of the Teachers League of South Africa (TLSA), educationist and teacher, is born in Rorke's Drift, Kwazulu-Natal. He was the only Black student of the South African College, now the University of Cape Town. During his studies, having been denied entry to the Rhodes University College in Grahamstown and Victoria College in Stellenbosch, now the University of Stellenbosch, because of his race.