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EventLillian Ngoyi, well-known anti-Apartheid activist, dies
Anti-Apartheid activist and founder member of the African National Congress Women’s League (ANCWL), Lilian Ngoyi died on 13 March 1980. She was 68 years old. …
EventThe University of South Africa is officially opened, replacing the University of the Cape of Good Hope.
South Africa’s biggest University, the University of South Africa (Unisa) was officially opened on 2 March 1918. It had been known as the University of the…
EventGeorge Pauling, builder of railway lines in SA, dies
George Craig Sanders Pauling was a British born engineer who built railway lines in South Africa, Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe) and other Southern and Central…
EventTryna du Toit, Afrikaans novelist, is born in De Aar, Karoo
Catherina Charlotte Kotzenberg was born in De Aar on 13 January 1910. She started writing books at the age of thirty and chose to write under the pseudonym,…
ArticleThe South African general elections: 1999
On 3 March 1999, the President of the Republic of South Africa, Nelson Mandela, announced to the National Assembly (Parliament) that the second non-racial…
South Africa's freedom struggle by E.S. Reddy
Dr. Yusuf Mohamed Dadoo played an outstanding role in the South African liberation movement for over half a century - in persuading the Indian community to…
80. Local affairs committees: a means to an end
From the book: A Documentary History of Indian South Africans edited by Surendra Bhana and Bridglal Pachai The system of management committees, or local…
Chapter 5. A Rebel’s Daughter - Garment Workers in Action by E. S. Sachs
Hester Cornelius (Translated from the Afrikaans) I was born and brought up in the Lichtenburg District, Transvaal. Both my father and my grandfather fought in…
The Sweet Workers’ Union
The Sweet Workers’ Union (SWU) originated as an offshoot of the short-lived Women Workers’ Union, founded by Fanny Klenerman in the mid-1920s, when that…
PlaceTransvaal Province
The Transvaal is a historical region and former Province of South Africa, located North of the Vaal River, that existed from 1910 to 1994. It's now part of the…
EventVergelegen Wine Estate Owner Samuel Kerr Dies
Samuel Kerr,an Irishman, wastheowner of the Vergelegen Wine Estate, Somerset West from 1901-1917. He acquired the estate on 29 March 1901 at a price of £11,404…
EventIvory Coast's new prime minister, Daniel Kablan Duncan, takes office
After emerging as an independent country following French colonization, Ivory Coast came under the leadership of Félix Houphouët-Boigny. Known as the father of…
ArchivePetrus Mashishi
Petrus Mashishi, President of the South African Municipal Workers Union (SAMWU) from its founding in 1987 until 2009, was both a man of his times and a giant…
History Wars, Wars in history & other Southern African histories
In the prologue to The Go-Between, L.P. Hartley claimed that the “past is a foreign country: they do things differently there”. That is certainly true for 1914…
A Helots’ Bill of Rights
South African Communist Party Documents. 1923 A Helots’ Bill of Rights First Published: Editorial in The International, June 1, 1923. Transcribed: by…
Establishment of the Food Committee
In the 1940s, as a result of the Second World War, South Africa was undergoing a downturn in economic fortunes. Unemployment and food shortages were rife,…
Establishment of Food Committee
In the 1940s, as a result of the Second World War, the South African economy was very weak.Unemployment and food shortages were rife, exacerbating this…
Establishment of the Food Committee
In the 1940s, as a result of the Second World War, South Africa was undergoing a downturn in economic fortunes. Unemployment and food shortages were rife,…
My Spirit Is Not Banned - Resources by Frances Baard and Barbie Schreiner
From the book: My Spirit Is Not Banned by Frances Baard and Barbie Schreiner The Federation of South African Women's Papers, University of the Witwatersrand…
PlaceMiddle Campus, University of Cape Town, Rondebosch
The Upper, Middle and Lower Campuses together are often referred to as the 'main campus' The Campus as it stands today was laid out by architect J.M. Soloman…
EventThe battle of Donkerhoek (Diamond Hill) marks the continuation of the South African War
On 11 June, 1900, Boer commandos and British forces clashed at Donkerhoek (Diamond Hill) during the South African War. The battle came after General Lord…
EventANC activists bribe warder and escape from prison
Four political detainees, Harold Wolpe, a listed Communist arrested on the Bechuanaland border, Arthur Goldreich, caught in the Rivonia raid, Moosa Moolla,…
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…
EventWinnie Mandela is elected ANCWL president
Born Nomzamo Winfreda Zanyiwe Madikizela in the Eastern Cape, President Mandela’s former wife and politician was elected President of the African National…
EventSouth Africa is invited to rejoin Commonwealth of Nations
On 25 October 1993, South Africa was invited to rejoin the Commonwealth of Nations with effect from January 1994. The move came after prolonged promising…
EventFormer Cabinet Minister Dullah Omar dies
Dullah Mohamed Omar was born in Observatory, Cape Town on 26 May 1934 and grew up in District Six. After matriculation he enrolled at the University of Cape…
EventSouth African Aerial Transports services are inaugurated
Air services were inaugurated in South Africa with the amalgamation of a London-based company, the South African Aerial Navigation Company and the SA-based…
EventGandhi leaves South Africa
… Jinnah vs. Gandhi , (Hachette Book Publishing India), p.1913 …
EventThe Stellenbosch Gymnasium is founded
The Stellenbosch Gymnasium, forerunner of the University of Stellenbosch, was opened with ceremony in a large house in Dorp Street. This was achieved on…
EventNatal becomes part of the Union of South Africa
In 1844 Natal, annexed by Britain on 12 May 1843, became a district of the Cape Colony under a lieutenant-governor. It was proclaimed a British colony on 4 May…