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BiographyTamsanqa Tasque Tshume
Stalwart of the Cape African National Congress in the 1950s. He was born in 1925 in Port Elizabeth, and inherited the political inclinations of his two uncles,…
BiographyPetrus Linda Jabane (Lion of Chiawelo)
Petrus Linda Jabane (Lion of Chiawelo) was born in 1958 in Soweto, Transvaal (now Gauteng). After his father's death, his mother could only afford to keep him…
BiographyPravin Jamnadas Gordhan
The contribution of Pravin Gordhan may never be truly understood and appreciated by millions of South Africans. For those of us who have had the privilege to…
BiographyRoseberry Tandwefika Bokwe
Roseberry Tandwefika Bokwe was born in 1900 in the Tsomo district of the Transkei. He began his education at the mission of his father,John Knox Bokwe, in Ugie…
BiographyIsaac Zakes Nkosi
Isaac Zakes Nkosi, known to his fans as Bra Zakes, was born in Alexandra Township early in 1919. He started his schooling in Alexandra at a Catholic primary…
BiographyMatthew Nkoana
Matthew Nkoana was born about 1930 in the rural northern Transvaal near Pietersburg. After completing elementary school he took a job selling newspapers. In…
BiographyAbner S. Mtimkulu
Abner S. Mtimkulu was born in Natal, Mtimkulu was ordained a minister in the Wesleyan Methodist Church but left it later to join the independent Bantu…
ArticleRight to Organise Timeline 1500-1994
1500-1800 This period is marked by the advent and growth of the Atlantic Slave Trade affecting West Africa, Central and East Africa. On the Southern African…
BiographyBisho Jarsa
Article by Sandra Rowoldt Shell, University of Cape Town. When Neville Alexander used to visit his maternal grandmother Bisho Jarsa as a boy, he never…
BiographyPatrick Vuyo Matshikiza
Article first published in The Sunday Independent January 4 2015 at 10:37am By Sam Mathe Johannesburg - Pianist, singer and composer Pat Matshikiza, 76, who…
BiographyZachariah Keodirelang Matthews
Zachariah Keodirelang Matthews was born 20th October, in 1901 Kimberley , the son of Peter Motsielwa and Martha Mooketsi Matthews, a Tswana mineworker who…
BiographySakumzi (Saki) Justice Macozoma
Please note: This biography is a modified extract from the following source: Gastrow, S. (1992) Who`s Who in South African politics Number 4.p.67. If you would…
ArticleDecember 16, the reflection of a changing South African heritage
IntroductionDecember 16 looms large in the history of South Africa. Today in the new South African it is celebrated as the Day of Reconciliation between Blacks…
BiographyEric Mbatha
Eric Mbatha was born in Soweto, 1948. He obtained training in art in 1971 at Evangelical Lutheran Art and Craft Centre at Rorke`s Drift. He had a longer…
BiographyT W Thibedi
Before joining the Communist Party of South Africa (CPSA) in the 1920s, Thibedi was a member of the International Socialist League in the Cape and, according…
Johann Max Friedrich (Jean) Welz, painter and architect who emigrated to SA in the 1930s, is born in Salzburg, Austria.
BiographyJames “Jobe” Hadebe
James “Jobe” John Hadebe was born on 29 October 1923 in Frankfort in the Orange Free State. The son of a clerk and descendant of the Hlubi chief, Langalibalele…
BiographyRichard Owen Dudley
Richard Owen Dudley was born in Cape Town and grew up in the house bought in 1852 by his great-grandfather in Palmboom Road, Newlands. The large house was…
BiographyHarold Wolpe
Harold Wolpe was born on 14 January 1926 in Johannesburg to a Lithuanian Jewish family. Wolpe graduated with a BA in Social Studies in 1949 and an LLB in 1952…
BiographySathima Bea Benjamin
Sathima Benjamin was born into a humble family in Claremont, Cape Town in 1936. Deeply influenced by the cosmopolitan culture she grew up with in the shadows…
BiographyChief Hendrik ‘Hennie’ van Wyk
Hendrik ‘Hennie’ van Wyk was born in Vredendal, Cape Province (now Western Cape) on 14th July 1936. His childhood witnessed the final days of colonial rule and…
BiographyNerine Constantia Desmond Fial
Nerine Constantia Desmond Fial was born in Constantia, Cape, 1908. She studied graphics at London's Central School of Art in 1938, but was otherwise largely…
BiographyVictor Mhleli Ntoni
Victor Mhleli Ntoni was born in Langa in 1947, Western Province (now Western Cape) learning music from his mother, a locally recognised singer and his uncle,…
BiographyAndré Philippus Brink
Brink is a distinguished South African novelist, playwright, literary critic and academic who challenged the apartheid government. He is now Professor of…
Sydney Vernon Peterson, one of the prominent SA poets of the 1940s, dies in Germiston. His poetry was translated into English,
ArticleA history of Kwaito music
This genre of music started emerging in the 1990s. It is a mixture of a number of different rhythms from marabi of the 1920s, kwela of the 1950s, mbaqanga…
BiographyChris Qwazi
Chris Qwazi, a photo-journalist, started out as a freelancer in the 1980s at a time of increased resistance against Apartheid in Port Elizabeth, and the…
BiographyElizabeth "Rocky" Mafekeng
Elizabeth Mafekeng was born in 1918 in Tarkastad and attended school until Standard 7. Living conditions in her birthplace forced her to leave for Paarl in…
BiographyBuzwe Stanley Mabizela
Stanley Mabizela was born in 1934, 7th of March in Port Elizabeth, joined the liberation struggle at an early age when he first joined the ANC Youth League…
ArticleHarriet Bolton and the Garment Workers Industrial Union
By the 1950s, Harriet Bolton began to help with organising work in the unions. From the late 1960s Harriet Bolton was an executive committee member of TUCSA. …