SAHO global search
63,723 records
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…
EventThe historic Tana Baru Muslim cemetery is forced to close
The Muslim cemetery Tana Baru (meaning 'New Ground'), where some of the earliest and most respected Muslim settlers of South Africa were buried, was closed in…
EventAlexander Kerr is born
Alexander Kerr, educationist, church leader and the first principal of the South African Native College (later the University of Fort Hare), was born in…
EventFirst Black-owned newspaper is published
The first Black South African newspaper, Imvo Zabantsundu (Opinion of the People), was published by Thanda Press in King William's Town as an independent…
EventGermany declares South West Africa a German protectorate
Deutsch-Südwestafrika (German South West Africa), established its capitol at Otjimbingwe in 1885, then at Windhuk in 1891. It covered the core of what is…
EventProfessor Lydia van Niekerk is born
Lydia van Niekerk, professor of Dutch Literature and first woman to be appointed to the chair at the University of Stellenbosch, was born on the farm Diepkloof…
EventZulu King Cetshwayo Dies
King Cetshwayo was born to Mpande, who was King Shaka’s half brother in 1826. His father declared him his successor very early on in life, which was unusual…
EventPaul Kruger is sworn in as president of the Zuid
Stefanus Johannes Paulus (Paul) Kruger is often referred to as the 'father of the Afrikaner nation'. This is because his firm belief in the destiny of the…
EventPaul Kruger is elected president
After the abolition of the triumvirate, consisting of Vice-President Paul Kruger, Commander-General Piet Joubert and W.M. Pretorius, Paul Kruger was elected…
EventLondon Times pays tribute to King Sekhukhune
The London Times, a British based newspaper, paid tribute to King Sekhukhuneof the Marota Empire, commonly known as the Bapedi Kingdom. The newspaper published…
EventCetshwayo, travels to London to request that he should be restored as a king of the Zulu Kingdom
On 14 August 1882 Cetewayo (Cetshwayo), king of Zululand, visited Queen Victoria of Britain. Prior to his visit to Britain, he was exiled to the Cape after…