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EventSenator Robert Kennedy visits SA
In June 1966, during the darkest years of Apartheid, United States (US) Senator Robert Kennedy made a historic visit to South Africa. He was invited by the…
EventThe new ochre-red, white and green tri-colour of the Transkei is adopted
Within the old South Africa, 10 homelands were created. The 'separate development' policies (Apartheid) of H.F. Verwoerd resulted in the 'awarding' of 'self…
EventNUSAS President Ian Robertson is banned
The President of the National Union of South Africa Students (NUSAS), Ian Robertson, receives a banning order under the Suppression of Communism Act of 1950…
EventBram Fischer is sentenced to life imprisonment
Bram Fischer, the former political activist was arrested in 1964 for being a member of the illegal organisation Communist Party of South Africa (CPSA). He was…
EventNational Party wins general election
The National Party under Dr H.F. Verwoerd claimed majority of votes in a parliamentary general election, Verwoerd's last election before his assassination in…
EventSouth African Communist Party leader Abram Fischer is sentenced to life imprisonment on charges of communism
During the 1940s, Bram Fischer served on the Johannesburg District Committee and the Central Committee of the Communist Party of South Africa (later SACP). In…
Educationist Martha Helena Cillié dies
Martha Helena Cillié, teacher and headmistress whose greatest achievement was her contribution to the education of girls and to teacher training over a period…
EventMilitary Coup in Ghana
A military coup, led by General Joseph Ankrah, seized power in Ghana. They staged the coup while President Kwame Nkrumah was out of the country en route to…
EventOuneas Pakes Dikgetsi is born
Member of the Executive Council (MEC) for Housing and Local government of the Northern Cape Provincial Government and founder member of the United Democratic…
EventArthur Elias Letele, medical doctor and prominent ANC leader who went into exile in Basutoland, dies
Arthur Elias Letele was born in Lesotho in 1916, but grew up in Ladybrand in the Free State. After completing secondary school in the Eastern Cape, he studied…
EventRhodesian Prime Minister, Ian Smith, issues a Unilateral Declaration of Independence
Ian Smith became prime minister of the self-governing British colony of Rhodesia in 1964. In keeping with the postwar trend toward de-colonisation, British…
EventAbram Fischer is struck off the roll of advocates
The Johannesburg Bar Council struck Abram Fischer's name off the roll of advocates for his role in the struggle against apartheid. As an advocate Fischer…
EventDr. Margaret Roach ‘Killie’ Campbell, collector of Africana, dies in Durban
Margaret Roach "Killie" Campbell was born in Mount Edgecombe, Natal (now KwaZulu-Natal) on 9 September 1881. She was educated at St. Anne's Diocesan College in…
EventGambia is admitted to the United Nations
Situated on the west coast of Africa, the banks of the River Gambia have been inhabited for many centuries. The first known written record of The Gambia is a…
EventSA tenor Johan Botha is born
Internationally known singer Johan Botha was born in Rustenburg, Transvaal (now North West Province). He attended his first singing lessons at the age of ten…
EventDr. Silas Modiri Molema dies in Mafikeng
Dr Seetsele Silas Modiri Molema, medical doctor, politician and historian, died in Mafeking at the age of 74. He was the eldest son of Silas Thelesho Molema,…
EventKimberley swimmer Karen Muir (12) sets new world record
Karen Muir became the youngest official world record-holder in swimming history when she recorded 1min 8.7sec for the 110 yards backstroke at the Derby Baths,…
EventPrime Minister opens SA’s first atomic reactor
Dr. H.F. Verwoerd opened South Africa's first atomic reactor, SAFARI-1 (South African Fundamental Atomic Reactor Installation-1) at Pelindaba, about thirty km…
EventIngrid Jonker, SA poet, commits suicide.
On 19 July 1965, Ingrid Jonker, a South African poet, committed suicide by walking into the sea. Jonker was 31 Years old. The advanced ideas inherent in Ingrid…
EventHarold Strachan is served with restriction order
Harold Strachan, former South African Air Force pilot in World War 2 and member of the Communist Party of South Africa (CPSA) and Umkhonto we Sizwe (MK), the…
EventGary Player won the US Open golf tournament and became the fourth winner to earn all four top
EventSA raises concern with the Dutch government
The South African government instructed its ambassador to The Hague to inform the Dutch government of its displeasure over a grant of 100,000 guilders being…
EventANC member, Henry Fazzie sentenced to 20 years in jail under the Sabotage Act
Henry Fazzie went into exile to receive training in guerrilla warfare in Ethiopia. On his return to South Africa, their movements and whereabouts were…
EventNuclear Reactor At Pelindaba Goes Critical
On this date the nuclear reactor Safari, located in Pelindaba, near Pretoria, went critical and South Africa entered the nuclear age. The US firm Allis…
EventLucas Mangope, Bophuthatswana homeland leader is deposed
On 13 March 1994, Lucas Mangope was ousted as President of the homeland of Bophuthatswana. Mangope came to power in Bophuthatswana in 1966 during the reign of…
EventConstant Viljoen announces his resignation from AVF
The former leader of the Afrikaner Volksunie (AV) and Freedom Front (FF), General Constant Viljoen, announced his resignation from the Afrikaner National Front…
EventLucas Mangope leaves Mmabatho due to uprising
President Lucas Mangope, the leader of the apartheid homeland Bophuthatswana, retreated from the capital, Mmabatho, in the face of a popular uprising after he…
EventMangope calls out troops as unrest flares in Bophuthatswana
In 1994, the persistant tensions in Bophuthatswana homeland came to a head after the homeland's government decided against registering for the election and the…
EventIFP agrees to participate in 1994 elections
The transition in South Africa from Apartheid regime to democratic dispensation was not easily achieved. The period was characterised by demands and counter…
EventWalvis Bay is handed over to Namibia
The South African government ended eighty-four years of control over the Walvis Bay enclave by handing over the port and twelve offshore islands to the…