SAHO global search
63,739 records
EventOn 14 November 2006, parliament approved the controversial Civil Unions Bill, which provided for same-sex marriage
On 14 November 2006, parliament approved the controversial Civil Unions Bill, which provided for same-sex marriage, making South Africa the first African…
EventPresident Thabo Mbeki leads a government delegation to the funeral of former state president, P.W. Botha
Pieter Willem Botha was the prime minister and then president of South Africa from 1978 to 1989. He is commonly referred to as "Die Groot Krokodil" for his…
EventFormer South African Prime Minister, P.W Botha, dies
Former SA prime minister and later State President from 1978 to 1989, Pieter Willem Botha, died peacefully at the age of 90 at his house Die Anker near…
EventPallo Jordan opens the Mbuzini Samora Machel Public Library
On 6 October 2006, the Minister of Arts and Culture, Pallo Jordan, opened a community library at Mbuzini in the Mpumalanga Province, known as the Mbuzini…
EventHilda Bernstein passes away
South Africa reacted with shock at the passing away of veteran political activist, artist and writer Hilda Bernstein. She passes away on the 9th September 2006…
EventPutin visits South Africa
Russian president Vladimir Putin arrived in Cape Town, leading a delegation of government officials and business people on a two day official visit. This was…
EventNelson Mandela celebrates 88 th birthday
Former South African president Nelson Mandela's 88th birthday celebrations have kicked off with a new round of honours for this anti-apartheid icon, including…
EventDeputy Minister of Defence attends commemoration of Delville Wood
Mluleki George, SA deputy defence minister, attended the 90th commemoration of the Battle of Delville Wood in France, which raged from 15 to 20 July 1916…
ArchiveWomen in the apartheid society by Fatima Meer
The first martyrs of Satyagraha by E. S. Reddy
Gandhiji often stressed that satyagraha is not mere jail-going. He warned, during the first satyagraha in South Africa, as early as 1909: "A satyagrahi…
Now You Have Touched the Women - African Women`s Resistance to the Pass Laws in South Africa 1950-1960 by Elizabeth S. Schmidt
Introduction The decade of the 1950s was a decade of turmoil in South Africa. In the urban areas, a strong alliance was being forged between racially…
Defiance campaign in South Africa, recalled by E.S. Reddy
Rev. Frank Chikane gives keynote address at United Democratic Front launch event in Mitchells Plain (near Cape Town), South Africa on 20 August 1983. Historic…
ArchiveCelebrating and commemorating twenty-years of the Harare declaration by Kgolane Alfred Rudolph PHALA
Introduction This year, 2009, the people of South Africa celebrate the 20th Anniversary of the Harare Declaration, a significant document adopted by an OAU…
Manifesto of Umkhonto we Sizwe
Censorship and the reading practices of South African Political Prisoners, 1960-1990 by Archie L. Dick
Verwoerd's Grim Plot by Nelson Mandela
Verwoerd's Grim Plot By NELSON MANDELA No.36, May 1959 South Africa belongs to all who live in if, black and white." - The Freedom Charter. "All…
EventChief Mqikela dies
The Paramount Chief Mqikela, eldest son of Chief Faku and first chief of East Pondoland, died in Qawukeni, near Palmerton, Pondoland. Chief Mqikela took over…
EventThe Star is published in Johannesburg
The Star newspaper appeared for the first time in Johannesburg as The Eastern Star. It was founded in Grahamstown under that title on January 6, 1871, and was…
EventChristoffel Coetzee de Villiers (37), compiler of South African genealogical registers, dies
Location: back to this day in history search archive Christoffel Coetzee de Villiers was born on 10 March 1850 in Swellendam, in the Cape Colony (now Western…
EventMarcus Garvey, Jamaican-born Black nationalist who advocated the departure of African-Americans back to Africa, is born.
Marcus Garvey's name is synonymous with Pan-Africanism and the Rastafari Movement. He was born in Jamaica on 17 August 1887, and as a young man developed a…
EventPresident Paul Kruger authorises the construction of the railway line to Delagoa bay
The discovery of various rich mineral resources in Southern Africa saw the construction of various railway lines. Of note was the construction of the Delagoa…
EventXhosa Chief Sandile is killed
Xhosa Chief Sandile, born in the Ciskei in 1820, was killed in Denge Forest in a skirmish with the Fingos under Captain J. Lonsdale. Sandile was a son from the…
EventChief of the Lebelo group of the Ndebele, Johannes Jane Tane Kekana, dies
Chief of the Lebelo clan of the Ndebele, Johannes Jane Tane Kekana, died on the farm Leeukraal, to the north of Hammanskraal and was buried at Wallmansthal…
EventBattle of Dogali: Ethiopian army defeat the invading Italians
The battle of Dogali was a skirmish that was part of a larger conflict between the Italians and the Ethiopians. At this time Ethiopians had the most well…
EventStandard Bank becomes the first bank to opens its doors on the Witwatersrand
Standard Bank was established in Port Elizabeth in 1862, then known as The Standard Bank of British South Africa. It started doing business in a tent in…
EventFirst mines are proclaimed in Johannesburg
Though gold was discovered near Krugersdorp in July 1852 and mining activities started successively in various places on the Witwatersrand (meaning Ridge of…
EventMoses Kottler, A leading South African sculptor of his time, is born
Moses Kottler was born in Joniskis, Lithuania. Sources differ as to the date of his birth; some give it as 11 June 1892, others as 1896. Kottler studied art in…
EventSouth African artist, Maggie Laubser, is born
On 14 April 1886, South African artist Maggie Laubser was born on Bloublommetjieskloof farm in the district of Malmesbury, Cape Colony. Laubser went on to…
EventMafeking is established
The Barolong settlement Mahikeng was renamed Mafeking by Sir Charles Warren , leader of a military expedition, after the annexation of Bechuanaland by the…
EventStart of the Muslim community’s Tana Baru Cemetery Uprising
The first arrival of Muslims in South Africa took place in the 17th century, when Malay slaves were brought to the Cape. This was followed by the arrival of…