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EventSelassie becomes emperor
Ras (Duke) Tafari was crowned as Emperor Haile Selassie in Addis Abeba, Ethiopia, after the death of Empress Zaudito. After 45 years of rule, Selassie was…
EventWhite women achieve suffrage in South Africa
The roots of White women's suffrage in South Africa began with the founding of the Women's Christian Temperance Union (WCTU) in 1899. The goal of this…
EventJosiah Gumede is succeeded by Pixley ka Isaka Seme as ANC president
In January 1912, Pixley Seme, Alfred Mangena, Richard Msimang and George Montsio called for a convention of Africans to form the South African Native National…
EventTafari Makonnen proclaimed Emperor Haile Selassie I of Ethiopia
Born in 1891 (some sources say 1894), Tafari Makonnen, or Haile Selassie, as he was later known, was born the son of Ras Makonnen Wolde Michael, the Governor…
EventPetrus Jacobus (Arrie) Paulus is born
Petrus Jacobus (Arrie) Paulus, General Secretary of the Mineworkers' Union in 1967, is born in Pretoria. Click here for more on Arrie Paulus. Read more about…
EventSculptor Tavhana is born in Dzanani
South African carver and sculptor Tshikudo Paul Tavhana (also Thavhana), was born in Dzanani, Venda (now Limpopo Province).
EventThe AA is formed to coordinate motoring clubs
The Automobile Association of South Africa (AA) was formed at a meeting in Port Elizabeth attended by several provincial and other motoring clubs, in order to…
EventPetronella Nellie du Toit South African soprano singer is born
Nellie duToit was born on 17 December 1929 in Pietersburg (now Polokwane) into a musical family. Thus, Nellie du Toit began her singing career at tender age of…
EventEli Weinberg arrives in South Africa from Latvia
Eli Weinberg arrives in South Africa from Latvia. Eli Weinberg (1908-1981), a member of the South African Communist Party and trade union activist, was famous…
EventUniversity of Pretoria is established
The Transvaal University College, with branches in Johannesburg and Pretoria, took the examinations of the Cape University. The Pretoria branch of the…
EventWinkie Direko is born
Isabella Winkie Direko, former teacher, winner of the Bloemfonteiner of the Year Award in 1993 and Premier of the Free State since 17 June 1999, was born in…
EventRay Alexander Simons, founder of Food and Canning Workers Union, arrives in South Africa
Ray Alexander Simons nee Alexandrowich arrives in South Africa from Latvia where she was born on 12 January 1913. After her arrival in the country she realized…
Known as Black Tuesday’, the New York Stock exchange collapsed sending economic shockwaves throughout the world and throwing the global economy into depression
Tuesday, 29th October 1929, saw the world's economy go into recession as the New York Stock Exchange collapsed and saw shocked investors withdraw their…
EventThe Table Mountain cableway, one of the biggest tourist attractions in Cape Town, is inaugurated
On 4 October 1929 the Table Mountain cableway, one of the world’s biggest tourist attractions in Cape Town, was inaugurated. The official ceremony was opened…
EventSir Julius Jeppe, founder of the Witwatersrand Township Estate and Finance Corporation, dies in London
Sir Julius Gottlieb Ferdinand Jeppe passed away in London on 2 September 1929 at age 70. He was a mining and property magnate who was knighted for his…
EventSA’s first official commercial airline service is launched
Major Allister Mackintosh Miller secured a government subsidy and introduced the first official commercial air service in South Africa under the name of Union…
EventNational Party wins national elections
General James Barry Munnik (JBM) Hertzog's National Party (NP) wins the South African general election with an outright majority. Race plays a critical role…
EventA.G. Visser, SA physician and poet, dies in Heidelberg, Transvaal
Andries Gerhardus Visser was born on 1 March 1878 on the farm Zaaifontein, in the district of Fraserburg, South Africa. Visser attended the Huguenot Memorial…
EventMartin Luther King, Junior, is born
Martin Luther King, Junior, an African-American clergyman who orchestrated social change through non-violent methods was born on 15 January 1929 in Atlanta,…
EventClarence Mlami Makwetu is born
Clarence Mlami Makwetu, former president of the Pan Africanist Congress, is born in Hoyita, in the Cofimvaba district of the Transkei.
EventItalo-Ethiopian Treaty of 1928 is signed
On 2 August 1928, Italy signed a twenty-year treaty of friendship with Abyssinia (now known as Ethiopia). In the treaty, which was called the Italo-Ethiopian…
EventHosni Mubarak, President of Egypt is born
Hosni Mubarak was born on 4 May 1928 in Kafr-El-Meslha. Upon completing high school, he joined the Egyptian Military Academy, where he received a bachelor's…
EventEnoch Mgijima dies
Enoch Mgijima (Mgizima), Fingo prophet of the Israelites sect in the Eastern Cape, died in Ntabelanga, Queenstown. His followers, believing Enoch's claim that…
Carel Boshoff, former chairman of the Afrikaner Broederbond, is born
The British colonial government declares the abolishment of slavery in Sierra Leone
EventThe 4th Pan-African Congress is held in New York City, USA
The 4th Pan-African Congress was held in New York City, USA. The congress was sponsored by the American based African-American women's organisation, Circle for…
EventFidel Castro, president of Cuba from 1976 to 2008, is born
Fidel Alejandro Castro Ruz, was born into a wealthy family in Cuba. He attended Catholic schools before pursuing a law degree at the University of Havanna,…
EventThe first OK Bazaars opens on the corner of Eloff and President Street in Johannesburg
On 25 June 1927, Michael Miller and Sam Cohen opened the first OK Bazaars on Eloff and President Streets in Johannesburg. OK Bazaars went on to gain success as…
EventSA artist Mizream Maseko is born
Mizream Maseko (also Mizraim, Mizriam, Mizram), South African artist, was born on this date. He completed his schooling in the Transvaal. He began his career…
EventThe Balfour Declaration is accepted
The 1926 Imperial Conference, held in London from 25 October, accepted the Balfour Declaration, named after Lord Arthur Balfour who chaired the drafting…