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EventChief Malaboch is taken prisoner
In April 1894, Chief Malaboch (Mmaleboho, Mmaleboxo) of the Bahananwa (Xananwa) people refused to leave his traditional mountain kingdom of Blouberg as ordered…
EventAllison Wessels George (Mhlongo) Champion is born
Trade union leader, politician and businessman, Allison Wessels George (Mhlongo) Champion, was born at Sans Souci Mission Station at Nonyeke, near Groutville,…
EventThe BSAC flag is hoisted in Bulawayo
The flag of the British South Africa Company (BSAC) or Chartered Company was hoisted in Bulawayo, the Matabele capital, after the Company's forces, led by…
EventThe decisive Battle of Bembesi (Bembasi) is fought in the First Matabele War (Ndebele), Zimbabwe
The most decisive battle of the Matabele War of 1893 was fought between the Matabele Warriors (Ndebele), under the leadership of Lobengula, and the British…
EventSir John Robinson forms Natal’s first ministry as Prime Minister
On 10 October 1893, Natal's first ministry was formed, with Sir John Robinson as Prime Minister, Minister of Education, and Colonial Secretary. Robinson, who…
EventGeorge Christopher Cato (79), Natal pioneer and first mayor of Durban, dies
George Christopher Cato, Natal pioneer and first mayor of Durban, dies in the city on 9 July 1893. Cato was born in London, England in 1814. He came to South…
Borehole confirms estimates of huge gold deposits
EventM.K. Gandhi is forcibly removed from a whites-only train carriage
On 7 June 1893, M.K Gandhi, later known as "The Mahatma" or "Great Soul" was forcibly removed from a whites-only carriage on a train in Pietermaritzburg, for…
EventHunter and politician Johannes Viljoen dies
Big-game hunter, commandant, politician and scout Johannes Willem Viljoen (Jan) died in the Marico district, Western Transvaal. Together with three other…
EventRaymond Arthur Dart is born
Anthropologist, Professor Raymond Arthur Dart, is born in Brisbane, Australia. Raymond Dart discovered the Taung Child skull fossil near Taung in North West,…
EventIndian Rights Campaigner Bhawani Sannyassi Dayal is born
Bhawani Sannyassi Dayal, a journalist and campaigner for Indian rights, was born in Johannesburg as son of Jariam Singh, a former president of the Transvaal…
EventThe Transvaal National Union is established
The Transvaal National Union, a political organisation, was set up with J. Tudhope as president. The principal reason behind its formation was to further the…
EventHaile Selassi I, Emperor of Ethiopia, is born
Haile Selassi was born as Lij Tafari Makonnen in the village of Ejersa Gor, in the Harar province of Ethiopia. Heir to a 13th century dynasty, he ascended to…
EventJames Sebe Moroka is born
Dr James Sebe Moroka, medical doctor, landowner and politician who was elected president-general of the African National Congress (ANC) from 1949 to 1952, was…
EventJRR Tolkien born in Bloemfontein
J.R.R. Tolkien was born in Bloemfontein, Orange Free State. His parents, Mabel and Arthur Tolkien, were British but worked in a bank in South Africa. He was a…
EventAndries Pretorius, Pretoria founder reburied
Voortrekker leader Andries Pretorius after whom Pretoria was named, died in 1853 at his Magaliesburg home. His body was later exhumed and reburied at Heroes'…
EventKimberly linked by rail to Barkley West
The railway line from Kimberley reaches Fourteen Streams, Barkley West. The railway line had initially been commissioned by the Cape Government and eventually…
EventSA composer Benjamin Tyamzashe is born
South African composer, choir conductor, organist and teacher, Benjamin Tyamzashe, affectionately known as 'B-ka-T', was born in Kimberley in 1890. B-ka-T…
EventSA Journalist James Gray is born
South African journalist, newspaper proprietor and former editor of the Pretoria News, James Andrew Gray was born in Scotland. He served on the staff of the…
EventPresident Paul Kruger in an appeasement move
In an effort to solve the 'Uitlander' grievances regarding voting rights, President Paul Kruger of the Zuid-Afrikaansche Republiek (ZAR) (South African…
EventBhambatha becomes chief
Chief Magadu Bhambatha, who was held responsible for the Impi Yamakhanda (poll tax) uprising that was popularly known as the Bambatha rebellion became chief of…
EventActress and teacher Wilhelmina Freund is born
Wilhelmina Louisa Ida (Minna) Freund, actress and teacher of elocution, was born in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany, when her parents, who were South African…
EventSA architect Gerard Moerdijk is born
Gerard Leendert Pieter Moerdijk, of Dutch descent, was born in the Waterberg district, Transvaal (now Limpopo Province). He was one of the first Afrikaans…
EventQueen Victoria of Britain approves Charter for Rhodes
On this date the British Colonial Secretary addressed a dispatch that Queen Victoria has approved a Royal Charter creating the British South Africa Company …
EventQueen Victoria issues charter for the formation of the British South Africa Company
South Africa effectively became a British colony in 1795. This led to great number of changes, such as the expansion into the interior of South Africa and the…
EventCelebrated nurse, Constance Nothard, is born
Constance Annie Nothard, nursing sister and recipient of the Florence Nightingale Medal, the highest award of the International Red Cross Society, was born in…
EventCommunity leader James Sofasonke Mpanza is born
James Sofasonke Mpanza (Sofasonke meaning We shall all die), community leader, founder of the Sofasonke Party and a champion for better housing for…
EventPresident Paul Kruger lays the foundation stone of the Raadsaal on Pretoria’s Church Square
Church Square, which was initially called Market Square, was home to the first church built in Pretoria, which burnt down in 1882. The square's current layout…
EventInternational celebration of ‘May Day’
On 1 May, South Africa will enjoy Worker's Day (effectively a May Day holiday). Worker's Day celebrates the role played by Trade Unions, the Communist Party…
EventRhodes asks Charter for British South Africa Company
Cecil John Rhodes applies for a Charter from United Kingdom to establish the British South Africa Company. The Royal Charter was granted in October 1889, with…