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EventAdriaan Vlok is born
Former South African minister of law and order, Adriaan Johannes Vlok, was born in Sutherland, Cape Province. He started his career in the department of…
EventNovelist and historian Bessie Head is born
Novelist, short story writer and social historian Bessie Amelia Head was born in Pietermaritzburg. Being the daughter of a White mother (who was disowned by…
EventEzrom Kgobokanyo Sebata Legae is born
Ezrom Kgobokanyo Sebata Legae, South African artist, was born in Vrededorp, Johannesburg. He studied at the Polly Street Art Center and Jubilee Art Centre…
EventSA artist, Daniel Sefundi Rakgoathe is born
On 25 February 1937, Daniel (D an) Sefundi Rakgoathe was born in Randfontein in the then Transvaal province. Rakgoathe went on to be the first full-time…
EventItalian Troops raid Addis Ababa
Italian troops commence with raids into Addis Ababa, capital of Ethiopia. After the capture of Addis Ababa by the Italian troops, Benito Mussolini, the Fascist…
EventGolfing legend Gary Player is born
South African international golfing legend, Gary Player, is born in Johannesburg.
EventWell-known political activist and academic, Dr. Neville Alexander is born
A well-known political activist and academic, Neville Edward Alexander was born on 22 October, 1936 in Cradock, Eastern Cape. He went on to complete three…
EventSir Thomas Cullinan (74), founder of the Premier Mine where the Cullinan diamond was discovered in 1907, dies.
Sir Thomas Cullinan was knighted for his discovery of the Premier Mine and his service to industry. He was one of the co-founders and a chairperson of what…
EventAdolf Hitler opens the 11th Olympic Games in Berlin
The Berlin Games are infamously known as Hitler's Olympics after he used the event for propaganda to promote his National Socialist German Workers' Party (Nazi…
EventThe official launch of the SABC
In 1934, General James Barry Munnik (JBM) Hertzog, prime minister of South Africa, ordered an official investigation into all aspects of Broadcasting in South…
EventSydney Bunting, labour union leader dies
Sydney Percival Bunting, South African communist and labour union leader, died at the age of 53 in Johannesburg, from stroke related disease. Bunting played an…
EventLondon hosts an international conference on the protection of the African elephant and rhinoceros
On this day in history, and international conference was held to implement legislation to protect the African elephant and rhinoceros. This is because due to…
Representation of Natives Act passed
EventAdolph Hitler Opens VW Plant In Germany
Adolph Hitler opens an assembly plant in Sakse, Germany, for the manufacture of Volkswagen motor vehicles. Today, Volkswagen is one of the leading motor…
EventJan Volschenk, a well-known South African painter, dies
On this day in history, Jan Volschenk, a prominent South African painter, died at the age of 83. He passed away in the town of Riversdale in the Cape Province,…
EventWW2: Italy invades Ethiopia
In 1935, the League of Nations was faced with another crucial test. Benito Mussolini, the Fascist leader of Italy, had adopted Adolf Hitler's plans to expand…
EventHaile Selassie, Emperor of Ethiopia, warns the League of Nations that he is going to mobilise his forces after threats of invasion by Italy
Ethiopia had been one of the few states to survive "the scramble for Africa" by the major European powers in the late 19th century. Both Italy and Ethiopia…
EventThe South African cricket team beats England for the first time on English soil
Cricket in South Africa was established by the British, and the first tour by a side from England took place in 1888-89. Here South Africa played its first…
EventMac Maharaj is born
Sathyandranath Ragunanan (Mac) Maharaj, political activist and first SA Minister of Transport in the democratically elected government in 1994, was born in…
EventSA artist Sydney Khumalo is born
South African artist Sydney Alex Khumalo (also documented as Kumalo), was born in Johannesburg. He began studying at Polly Street Art Centre in 1952 and worked…
EventTielman Roos dies after a long illness
Tielman Johannes de Villiers Roos (56), politician and former South African Minister of Justice, dies after a long struggle against ill health. He was…
EventSAA takes over the South-West African Airways (SWAA)
A year after its establshment, South African Airways (SAA), took over South-West African Airways (SWAA), which had since 1932 been providing a weekly air-mail…
EventThe United Party is formed
The United South African National Party, also known as the United Party, was officially formed after a merger between the National Party, under the leadership…
EventItaly invades Ethiopia
Benito Mussolini determined to establish an Italian empire and to avenge Italy's defeat in 1896 at Adwa by the Eritreans invades Eritrea. A border clash at…
EventRonald Harwood , Oscar winning screenwriter, is born in Cape Town, South Africa
Born Ronald Horwitz in in 1934, he moved to from South Africa to London in 1951 to pursue a career in the theater. He changed his name to Harwood after an…
EventKader Asmal, political activist and future Member of Parliament, is born
Kader Asmal political activist, human rights lawyer, former Minister of Education (1999-2004) and of Water Affairs and Forestry (1994-1999); is born in Stanger…
EventA national congress, under auspices of the Dutch Reformed Church, meets to discuss the ‘poor White problem’
The 'poor White problem' or the Armblankevraagstuk as it was referred to in Afrikaans, was a significant political issue in South Africa in the late 19th…
EventWinnie Madikizela-Mandela, former wife of President Nelson Mandela, is born
Winnie Madikizela-Mandela, former wife of President Nelson Mandela, is born in Bizana, Pondoland. Madikizela-Mandela was a staunch opponent of P W Botha's…
EventWole Soyinka is born
The Nigerian, novelist, playwright and poet, Wole Soyinka, was born at Abeokuta, near Ibadan in western Nigeria. Soyinka became the first African to receive…
EventProf. Sibusiso Emmanuel Bengu is born
The first national minister of education in South Africa's Government of National Unity (GNU), Prof. Sibusiso Mandlenkosi Emmanuel Bengu was born in Kranskop,…