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EventWalter Sisulu, co-founder of the ANCYL and Umkhonto we Sizwe, is born
Political leader, Walter Ulyate Sisulu was born in the Engcobo area in the Transkei on 18 May 1912. Sisulu worked as a miner, baker's assistant, domestic…
EventThe first weather forecast for the Union is issued
After amalgamation of the weather services of the four provinces on 1 April 1912, the first weather forecast for the Union of South Africa as a whole was…
EventFormation of the South African Native National Congress
The South African Native National Congress (SANNC), later known as the Africa National Congress (ANC) was founded on the 8 January 1912. At SANNC's inaugural…
EventSir Abe Bailey, Rand mine magnate and politician, marries Mary Westenra, pioneer aviatrix
Sir Abe Bailey, a prominent politician and mine magnate, married Mary Westenra on 5 September 1911, and together they settled in Johannesburg. Lady Mary Bailey…
EventLeprosy expert Dr Kok is born
Susanna Helena Kok, medical missionary of the Dutch Reformed Church and authority on leprosy, was born in Brandfort, Orange Free State (now Free State). She…
EventA German gunboat, the Panther, reaches Morocco, increasing tensions between European powers
On 1 July 1911, the deployment of the German gunboat, the Panther to Agadir, Morocco, contributed significantly to the tension between the European powers in…
EventFirst aeroplane flight in Kimberley breaks the non-stop flight record
John Weston, a civil engineer, began the construction of his own aeroplane in 1907 at Brandfort, in the Free State. This was the first South African built…
EventReport released on the Waratah steamship's disappearance
A report was released in London about the disappearance of the Waratah between Durban and Cape Town. The twin-screw passenger and cargo steamship, one of the…
EventSA author Hymne Weiss is born
South African author and translator of books into Afrikaans from six European languages, Hymne Weiss, was born on the farm Goedemoed, Rouxville district,…
EventMonty Naicker dies
Gagathura Mohambry (Monty) Naicker, medical doctor and prominent politician, was born in Durban. Naicker played a crucial role in the history of South Africa…
EventGeneral Louis Botha wins elections
On 15 September 1910, General Louis Botha and Hertzog's South African Party (SAP) won the majority number of seats in the House Assembly forming the first…
EventSA artist Ernest Methuen Mancoba is born
South African artist Ernest Methuen Mancoba was born in Boksburg, Transvaal. He left for Paris to further his studies in 1938. Mancoba never returned to live…
EventLord Baden-Powell's sister, Agnes, establishes the Girl Guides Movement
EventUnion of South Africa is inaugurated
Following delegates of the Boer Republics' agreement by 54 to 6, to accept the British proposals for peace on 31 May 1902, the Treaty of Vereeniging was…
EventLouis Botha becomes Union’s first Prime Minister
A former member of the Volksraad of the South African Republic (Transvaal), representing the Vryheid district in 1897 and also Boer general during Anglo-Boer…
EventHalley’s Comet reaches the closest point to earth
Halley's Comet is named after the astronomer Edmund Halley, who in 1705 calculated the orbit of the comet around the sun. Halley was also the first astronomer…
EventThomas Thornton becomes the first passenger on an aeroplane in South Africa
On 19 March 1910, Thomas Thornton became the first person to fly on an aeroplane as a passenger when he paid Albert Kimmerling £100 for a short flight from…
EventGandhi supports APO’s Day of Mourning
Mahatma Gandhi supported the resolution of the African People's Organisation (APO) to declare the day of arrival of the Prince of Wales in Cape Town as a day…
EventMoses Josiah Madiba is born
Moses Josiah Madiba, the author, educationist and first African chancellor of the University of the North, was born at Uitvlucht, Pietersburg (now Polokwane)…
EventYusuf Dadoo, political activist, is born
On 5 September 1909, a tireless fighter for national and social liberation, Dr. Yusuf Mohamed Dadoo was born in Krugersdorp, Johannesburg. According to Essop…
EventJack Penn, sculptor and one of the world’s best plastic surgeon is born
Jack Penn, a well known plastic and reconstructive surgeon, was born on 14 August 1909 in Cape Town. Penn later moved with his family to Johannesburg, where he…
EventThe Draft South Africa Act is signed
Following the National Convention held by four British colonies, namely, Transvaal, Orange, Natal and Cape, the draft South Africa Act was signed in…
EventSA colonies meet to consider and adopt the South Africa Act, which leads to the Union of South Africa
In the aftermath of the Anglo-Boer War (1899-1902), Britain annexed the South African Republic and the Orange Free State, two hitherto independent Afrikaner…
EventCullinan diamond is cut into two
The Cullinan diamond was cut into two big stones, The Star of Africa and the Cullinan 2, as well as seven fairly big stones and ninety-six small stones. The…
EventHarry Frederick Oppenheimer is born in Kimberley
Harry Frederick Oppenheimer was born in Kimberley on 28 October 1908 to Ernest Oppenheimer and Mary Lina Pollock. Oppenheimer completed his primary education…
EventBelgium annexes the Congo Free State
The central African region in which the Congo (now Democratic Republic of the Congo) lies has been pervaded by conflict and instability. This can be traced…
EventEli Weinberg, trade unionist and photographer, is born
On 28 August 1908 Eli Weinberg was born in Libau, Latvia. Weinberg was a trade unionist and communist party member. He co-founded the African Garment Workers'…
EventCongo Free State becomes the Belgian Congo
King Leopold II of Belgium handed over the Congo to the Belgian state on this date. Previously he held it as a private project undertaken to extract rubber and…
EventEducationist Godfrey Nakene is born
Educationist and school principal, Godfrey Nakene, in whose honour Orlando High School was renamed Nakene High School, is born in Ga-Ramokgopa, Pietersburg…
EventMahatma Gandhi is arrested for refusing to carry Apartheid pass
On 10 January 1908 Mahatma Gandhi was arrested for the first time in South Africa for refusing to carry an obligatory identity document card commonly known as…