SAHO global search
63,739 records
EventSir John Frederick William Herschel dies
On 11 May 1871 astronomer, Sir John Frederick William Herschel, died. Herschel began to take a serious interest in astronomy from about 1816. Herschel's father…
Frederick William Fitzsimons, pioneer of SA’s school museum service, is born in Ireland
The Republic of Klipdrift is proclaimed
EventJan Smuts is born
Jan Christian Smuts, who became South Africa's second Prime Minister in 1919, was born on the farm Bovenplaats near Riebeeck West in the Cape. Smuts had a…
EventKing Moshoeshoe dies
King Moshoeshoe, founder and first paramount chief of the Basotho nation died and was buried on Thaba Bosigo.
EventM K Gandhi, pioneer of the SA Passive Resistance movement and leader who led India to Independence, is born
Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi was born into a Hindu Modh family in Porbandar, India. In 1893 he accepted a year-long contract from an Indian law firm work in…
Mzilikazi dies
EventBasutoland (now Lesotho) becomes British territory
Moshoeshoe is credited as "the father of the Basotho people" as he was responsible for the creation of Lesotho (The Basotho Kingdom), and the drawing together…
EventFirst recorded discovery of diamonds in the colonial period of South Africa
13 October 1867 marks the first recorded discovery of diamonds in the colonial period of South Africa, with the very first becoming known as the Eureka diamond…
EventGriqua leader Andries le Fleur is born
Andries Abraham Stockenström le Fleur, Griqua leader (kaptyn) and visionary, was born in Herschel, CC. He was the son of Abraham le Fleur and one of the…
EventDr Robert Broom is born
This day in history, Robert Broom, known for having discovered “Mrs Ples”, was born in Paisley, Scotland. Though Broom was educated as a doctor, specializing…
EventThe first known reference to Antjie Somers, a South African bogy figure, is made in The Friend
It is alleged that Antjie Somers was a bandit dressed in woman’s clothes who attacked travellers at night. Other sources claim that Somers was just an angry,…
Martha Helena Cillié is born
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…
Samuel Crowther, bishop of Niger, becomes the first Black bishop of the Church of England
EventFirst Tramway Company in Cape Town commences operations, with a horse
Public transport in South Africa commenced in Cape Town in May 1801, when a weekly coach service from Cape Town to Simon's Town was announced. Many years later…
EventWilliam J. Burchell (71), botanist and explorer of the South African interior, dies
William John Burchell, English Explorer, naturalist, traveller, artist, and author was born in 1792. The son of a wealthy nurseryman. Burchell travelled…
EventGen. Louis Botha, soldier, statesman and first prime minister of the Union of South Africa, is born.
Gen. Louis Botha, soldier, statesman and first prime minister of the Union of South Africa, is born near Greytown, Natal (now kwaZulu Natal). A Boer…
Transvaal burghers shoot Jacobus du Toit on horseback
EventThe first rugby match that is played in SA
On 23 August 1862, the first rugby match heralded the start of what would become a hugely popular sport among White people in South Africa. The match took…
EventSir Percy Fitzpatrick, author of ‘Jock of the Bushveld’, is born
On 24 July 1862, Sir Percy Fitzpatrick was born in King Williams Town. He was the eldest son of James Coleman Fitzpatrick and Jenny Fitzgerald, both of whom…
EventEdenburg is founded
The church village Edenburg in the Orange Free State was established when the farm Rietfontein was purchased to build a church. The initial application for…
Chief Sekwati dies
Abraham Lincoln is elected president of the United States.
The first railway line in South Africa, between Durban and the Point, is officially opened
Street post boxes are introduced in the Cape
EventEmily Hobhouse is born
On 9 April 1860, Emily Hobhouse was born in Liskeard, Cornwall. Hobhouse was a humanitarian and pacifist who vehemently opposed British government policy in…
EventBritish Kaffraria becomes a province with its own administration
British Kaffraria becomes a province with its own administration The area that became known as British Kaffraria was overrun by violence between British…