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EventHelen Suzman is born
Politician and Anti-Apartheid activist, Helen Suzman, was born in Germiston, South Africa. During her 36 years in Parliament she defended the right to freedom…
EventMargaret Mary Smith, SA artist and ichthyologist, is born
On 26 September 1916 artist and ichthyologist, Margaret Mary Smith, was born in Indwe in the Eastern Cape. Ichthyology is the branch of zoology that deals with…
EventBattle of Delville Wood starts
South Africa entered WWI on 8 September 1914, on the side of the Allied Forces. On 15 July 1916, the S.A. Infantry Brigade under Major-General H.T. Lukin was…
EventLinguist and educationist Sedumedi Moloto is born
Ernest Sedumedi Moloto, linguist, educationist and teacher who served as chairman of both the Tswana Language Committee of South Africa and the Botswana…
EventWilliam Brown becomes the first South African officer killed during World War I
The 1st South African Infantry Brigade was recruited at Potchefstroom in August and September 1915 for service overseas. It was comprised of four battalions …
EventBritish secretary of war, Lord Kitchener drowns near Orkney Islands
Lord Kitchener, British secretary of war, was drowned in the spring of 1916 near the Orkney Islands. Kitchener had been sent to Russia by Prime Minister…
EventPolitical activist and lawyer A. P. Mda is born
Political activist, teacher and lawyer, co-founder of the African National Youth League (ANCYL) and its president in 1947, Ashby Peter (A.P.) Solomzi Mda, was…
EventSA troops invade East Africa in their confrontation with German forces in World War I
Britain had fought the Boer settlers in South Africa in the Anglo-Boer wars (1880-1, 1899-1902), so in 1914 many Afrikaaners sympathised with Germany. While…
EventP.W. Botha is born
Former South Africa state president, Pieter Willem Botha, (also known as Die Groot Krokodile - The Big Crocodile) was born on the farm Telegraaf in Paul Roux…
EventMiners strike at the Van Rhyn Deep mines
2,800 South African miners embark on a strike at the Van Rhyn Deep mines in a bid to redress some of their grievances. Located at Vanrhynsdorp, the mines were…
EventFormer South African Prime Minister and State President John Vorster is born
Former South African Prime Minister and State President, Balthazar John Vorster was born in in Uitenhage in the Eastern Cape on 13 December 1915. Vorster began…
EventThe Second General Election is held in the Union of SA
The second general election was held in the Union of South Africa with the National Party (NP) participating for the first time. The main point at issue was…
EventWWI: battalion consisting of ‘Cape Coloured men’, called the Cape Corps, is established
On 20 September 1915 a new battalion consisting of Cape Coloured men, called the Cape Corps was established with the view of being dispatched to East Africa in…
EventTrader and art collector Habib Rajab is born
Habib Mohamed (A.M.) Rajab was born in Durban. He was a trader and collector of oriental art, remembered for his role in preventing the Grey Street complex…
EventGeneral C.R. de Wet was found guilty of treason for leading the Afrikaner rebellion of 1914
General Christiaan Rudolph de Wet was a Boer soldier and statesman, regarded by Afrikaner nationalists as one of their greatest heroes. He won renown as…
EventA few days after deciding to establish a Dutch newspaper in South Africa, the name De Burger is chosen
On 24 May 1915, soon after it had been decided to establish a Dutch newspaper, the name of the newspaper, De Burger ("The Citizen"), was decided on. With…
General Louis Botha captures German
EventAnti-apartheid activist, Beyers Naude is born
Christiaan Frederik Beyers Naudé was born in Roodepoort, Transvaal, on 10 May 1915. He was named after C.F. Beyers, a Boer general who was close to his father,…
EventElisabeth Eybers, South African poet, is born
On 26 February 1915, Elisabeth Eybers was born in Klerksdorp, in the then western Transvaal. She moved to Amsterdam in 1966, and lived there until her death in…
EventEban Abba, Israeli statesman is born in Cape Town
Eban Abba, Israeli statesman was born in Cape Town South Africa, on 2 February 1915. He is the son of Abraham and Alida Sachs-Eban. His parents moved to Great…
EventRebel commando leader Fourie is executed
Josef Johannes (Jopie) Fourie, farmer, soldier and rebel commando leader during the 1914 Rebellion, was executed by a firing squad after being found guilty of…
EventBettie Cilliers, famous SA painter, is born
Bettie Cilliers-Barnard, famed SA painter and mother of actress Jana Celliers was born in Rustenburg, Transvaal. Though Cilliers-Bernard was at one time one of…
EventNavanethem (Navi) Pillay is born
Navanethem (Navi) Pillay, the United Nations (UN) High Commissioner for Human Rights was born on 23 September 1941 in Clairwood, Durban. She went to the…
EventGeneral Koos de la Rey, buried in Lichtenburg amid a very tense atmosphere.
On 20 September 1914 Jacobus Herculaas de la Rey, known as Koos de la Rey, a Boer general during the Second Anglo-Boer War who is widely regarded as being one…
Jacobus Herculaas de la Rey dies
EventThe National Party (Transvaal) is founded
The Union of South Africa was established in 1910. Although South Africa was no longer a British colony, it was not an independent country either. Its…
EventWork is stopped at the Kimberley mine
On 4 August 1914, work was stopped at the Kimberley mine after 43 years of operation. The mine became uneconomical to operate as it reached a depth of 1 083 m…
EventWorld War I begins
19th century Europe had a complex system of political and military alliances in place. The assassination of Austrian Archduke Franz Ferdinand by a Serbian…
EventGandhi leaves South Africa
Mohandas Gandhi, after successfully leading campaigns of Passive Resistance in this country, finally left from Cape Town by ship for England, from where he…
EventGen. J.B.M. Hertzog founds the Free State National Party
On 1 July 1914, General James Barry Munnik Hertzog officially established the Free State National Party in Smithfield, Orange Free State. As the National Party…