SAHO global search

1968

Rebecca Malope

Rebecca Malope was born in 1968 in Lekazi near Nelspruit in Mpumalanga. Beyond the fact that she did not progress that far in her education, little is known…

B-0008424

1955-2017

Peter McKenzie

Peter Michael McKenzie was born on 10 February 1955, in Durban, Natal (now KwaZulu-Natal). He was the youngest child of Duggie and Hilda McKenzie. He attended…

B-0008529

1926-2004

Wilfrid Edward Cooper

Wilfrid Edward Cooper was born on 22 May 1926 in Observatory, a suburb of Cape Town, Cape Province (now Western Cape Province) and lived in Mowbray until he…

B-0121280

1949-2015

Robert Carl-Heinz Shell

Robert Shell was born in Cape Town, South Africa on 13 February 1949, the only child of a German father, Heinrich (Heinz) Schelowsky (later changed to Shell)…

B-0100280

1860-1930

Govindasamy Krishnasamy Thambi Naidoo

Govindasamy Krishnasamy Thambi Naidoo*was born of indentured stock in 1875 in Mauritius. His family, originally from Mattur, state of Madras, in Tamil Nadu…

B-0008737

1847-1914

Jacobus Herculaas de la Rey

Jacobus Hercules de la Rey was the sixth child of Adrianus Johannes and Adriana (van Rooyen). He was born near Winburg on 22 October 1847. After the Battle of…

B-0007987

1946-1977

Stephen Bantu Biko

IntroductionStephen (Steve) Bantu Biko was a popular voice of Black liberation in South Africa between the mid 1960s and his death in police detention in 1977…

B-0007855

1985

Bathandwa Ndondo

As a young child, Ndondo’s maternal grandmother raised himwhile his mother, Lulama Sidumo (nee Ndondo),worked. Following the death of his grandmother, his…

B-0075601

1880-1945

Shapurji Jivanji Randeria

Shapurji Jivanji Randeria was born at Rander in the Surat district in India in 1880. He arrived in South Africa in 1900. He had passed the senior book-keeping…

B-0148511

1959

Romeo Zamani Makhanya

Zamani Romeo Makhanya was born in Durban, 1959. He experienced the trauma of losing his brothers one after the other to genetic heart-related conditions. The…

B-0008398

1955-1991

Jabulani “Mzala” Nxumalo

Jabulani Nxumalo, better known as Comrade Mzala, was born on 27 October 1955, in Dundee, Northern Natal. His parents Benjamin and Elsie were both teachers…

B-0068699

1773-1830

David Stuurman

David Stuurman was born around 1773, probably near the Gamtoos River in the Eastern Cape. From the 17th century onwards, the Khoi and San people were…

B-0093724

1942

Ali Bacher

If Ali Bacher's commitment to cricket had ended after his playing days, he would have had a proud place on the sport's roll of honour. It was Ali Bacher, the…

B-0007803

1865-1950

Daniel Cornelis Boonzaier

  Born in Patatsrivier, Carnarvon District, Cape, 1865 and died in Cape Town in 1950. D.C. Boonzaier was a SASA member, but there is no surviving record of…

B-0007866

1906-1966

August Aime Balkema

Several dutch publishers have featured prominently in the South African book industry. They include JJ van Schaik, Gerrit Bakker, Cornells Struik and AA…

B-0007812

1967

Mpush Makambi

Mpush Makambi was born in 1967 in Mdantsane, Eastern Cape. At school, Makambi was sporty but boxing was his first love. He turned professional in 1983 with a…

B-0149478

1953-1982

Dr. Neil Hudson Aggett

Neil Hudson Aggett was born in Nanyuki, Kenya on 6th October 1953, the first-born child of Aubrey and Joy Aggett. He began his schooling in Kenya, and when his…

B-0007775

1942-2002

Alfred Temba Qabula

Alfred Temba Qabula was born on 12 December 1942 in Flagstaff, Bhalasi in Pondoland to Solomon and Nonkhululeko Qabula. Qabula’s father worked as a machine…

B-0093813

1946-2006

Strinivasa “Strini” Moodley

Strinivasa "Strini" Moodley was born on 29 October 1946 in Durban, Natal (now KwaZulu-Natal). He was the eldest child of Joyce Margaret and Narainsamy Moodley,…

B-0008636

1958

Jonathan Shapiro

Born in Cape Town in 1958 and also known as Zapiro. Could not imagine a career in cartooning, so studied architecture at University of Cape Town. Could not…

B-0096423

1932

Mimi Coertse

Mimi Coertse was South Africa's first operatic prima donna."Prima donna", in its true sense, properly indicates the chief female vocalist in an opera company…

B-0007947

1953-2019

Bongani Mnguni

Bongani Mnguni was a South African photographer and photojournalist who dedicated his life to exposing the brutality of the apartheid system.  Mnguni was…

B-0149587

1940-2023

Professor Hoosen Mahomed "Jerry" Coovadia

Professor Hoosen Mahomed "Jerry" Coovadia was born in Durban, Natal (now KwaZulu-Natal - KZN) on 2 August 1940. His grandparents had come to South Africa…

B-0007958

Vusi Mahlasela

Vusimuzi Sidney Mahlasela ka Zwane was born in Mamelodi in 1965. His grandmother ran a shebeen from behind their home. He grew up listening to people singing…

B-0096899

1957-1998

Simon Nkoli

“If you are Black and gay in South Africa, then it really is all the same closet…inside is darkness and oppression. Outside is freedom.”— Simon Tseko…

B-0150068

1904-1996

Nokukhanya Luthuli

Nokukhanya Luthuli, maiden name Bhengu, (also known as MaBhengu) was the wife of Chief Albert John Luthuli. Although she never became as public a figure as her…

B-0122581

1861-1951

Sefako Mapogo Makgatho

Sefako Mapogo Makgatho was born at GaMphahlele, in the Pietersburg district in Transvaal (now Limpopo province) in 1861. He was the son of Chief Kgorutlhe…

B-0070720

1916-2006

Pieter Willem Botha

Botha was born on the farm Telegraaf in the Paul Roux district of the Orange Free State, the son of Afrikaner parents. He was the only son of Pieter Willem…

B-0007879

1966-2012

John Hodgkiss

John Hodgkiss was born on 25 September 1966 in Johannesburg. He studied fine art Rhodes University. Here he also studied under the renowned photographer Obie…

B-0085154

1886-1957

Jacob Hendrik Pierneef

Jacobus Hendrik Pierneef was born on 13 August 1886 in Pretoria from Dutch parents. Pierneef started his high school career at the Staatsmodelschool in…

B-0008887