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EventThe SABS is established
The South African Bureau of Standard (SABS) was established in terms of Act 24 of 1945. The Act was revised on several occasions and is currently effective as…
EventWell-known political activist and academic, Dr. Neville Alexander is born
A well-known political activist and academic, Neville Edward Alexander was born on 22 October, 1936 in Cradock, Eastern Cape. He went on to complete three…
EventLondon hosts an international conference on the protection of the African elephant and rhinoceros
On this day in history, and international conference was held to implement legislation to protect the African elephant and rhinoceros. This is because due to…
EventJoe Slovo is born
Joe Slovo, the former South African Communist Party (SACP) and African National Congress (ANC) leader and Minister of Housing was born in Lithuania. From 1950s…
EventThe first regional committee of the UDF is established in Natal
Anti-apartheid organisations united under the umbrella of the United Democratic Front. One of the first steps in creating the front was to establish regional…
EventNeil Aggett is buried in Johannesburg
Neil Aggett, former organiser of the Food and Canning Workers Union and African Food and Canning Workers Union, was buried in Johannesburg. It was estimated…
EventDanie Malan, SA athlete, sets a new world record in the 1 000m event in Munich
On 24 June 1973, South African athlete Danie Malan set a new world record in the middle distance 1000m event in Munich. Malan was raised in the Boland area of…
EventBanning orders served on NUSAS leaders
The National Union of South African Students (NUSAS) a White, student organisation, served an important role in unifying and voicing student protests against…
EventSouth African invention lands on the moon
Krugersdorp was the hometown of engineer George Pratley who founded the Pratley research group (PTY) and went on to invent Pratley Putty in the early 1960's…
EventDr. Silas Modiri Molema dies in Mafikeng
Dr Seetsele Silas Modiri Molema, medical doctor, politician and historian, died in Mafeking at the age of 74. He was the eldest son of Silas Thelesho Molema,…
EventFive ANC leaders are released from prison
On 15 October 1989, five of the eight African National Congress (ANC) long term political prisoners were released from Robben Island. Among those leaders who…
EventCleric and anti-apartheid activist, Mpilo Desmond Tutu is ordained as Archbishop of Cape Town
On 7 September 1986, former Secretary-General of the South African Council of Churches and Nobel Peace Prize winner, Desmond Tutu, was ordained as an…
EventThe TRC refuses amnesty to Hani’s killers
The Amnesty Committee of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) refused amnesty to Janusz Walus and Clive Derby-Lewis, the assassins of Chris Hani,…
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…
EventAfrikaans author Mikro is born
Christoffel Hermanus Kahn (Mikro), Afrikaans author, was born at Van Reenensplaas in Williston district, Cape Colony. KÁƒÂƒÂ¼hn attended school at Robertson…
EventForced removals at the Crossroads informal settlement
Numerous attempts were made by the local government to clear informal dwellings at Crossroads in close proximity to the Cape Town International airport. The…
EventSouth African writer J.M. Coetzee is born in Cape Town.
Born John Maxwell Coetzee in Cape Town to Afrikaner parents, Coetzee uses his initials as his pen name. He studied at the University of Cape Town and graduated…
Document 26 - Letter from Patrick Duncan to John Gomas, 3 October 1956
From: South Africa's Radical Tradition, a documentary history, Volume Two 1943 - 1964, by Allison Drew Document 26 - Letter from Patrick Duncan to John…
EventRoger Joyce Bushell, Auxiliary Air Force pilot famous for his escape from the German prisoner of war camp, is born in Springs, Transvaal (now Gauteng)
Roger Joyce Bushell was born in Springs, Transvaal (now Gauteng) to British parents. He lived in South Africa until he was 14, when his father sent him to…
EventArtist, Thomas Trevor Motswai , award-winning South African artist is born
Thomas Trevor Motswai (known as Tommy) is an award-winning South African artist. He has achieved national and international acclaim. Motswai was born on 27 May…
EventAn inquest into the death in detention of the white trade union leader, Dr. Neil Aggett opens
At the conclusion of a forty-four day inquest into the death in detention of white trade union leader, Dr. Neil Aggett, the Johannesburg magistrate, Pieter…
EventShaun Pollock makes history in a test match
The South African all-rounder, Shaun Pollock, became the only player in Test cricket history to have taken 300 wickets and score 3 000 runs. This milestone was…
EventConservative Party leader, Dr Andries Treurnicht, dies in Cape Town.
Dr Andries Treurnicht was born on 19 February 1921 on Middelpos farm in Piketberg, Western Cape. In 1942 he enrolled at the University of Stellenbosch where he…
EventSir Ronald Ross, discoverer of the malaria mosquito is born
Sir Ronald Ross the discoverer of the malaria mosquito was born in Almora, India in 1857. After graduating in medicine, he entered St Bartholomew’s Hospital…
EventMazisi Kunene, Zulu poet and ANC activist, is born
Mazisi Kunene was born on 12 May 1930 in Amahlongwa, Southern KwaZulu Natal to a Swazi mother and a Zulu father. He studied Zulu Literature at the University…
EventJacobus Johannes (Jim) Fouché is born in Wepener in the OFS.
On the 6 June 1898 1989, Jacobus Johannes Fouche was born in the Orange Free State (OFS) of South Africa. Fouche was elected as the second Sstate President of…
ArchiveDavid Goldblatt Revisits "On the Mines" by Jeffrey Ladd, 5 December 2012
As the German publisher Gerhard Steidl prepares a series of books on the life work of David Goldblatt, Jeffrey Ladd spoke with the South African photographer…
ArticleAfrikaner Jewry in South Africa
The identity of the Afrikaner Jew - what personifies the Boerejood? A Boerejood (‘farmer Jew’) or Boerejode (plural) is the term used to identify South…
ArticleCato Manor timeline 1650-2007
1650 Earliest known history - the Nqondo clan occupy the land now known as Cato Manor 1730 They are replaced by the Ntuli clan - it is unclear what…
ArticleNational symbols such as the Coat of Arms and the National Anthem
National Symbols since 1994In South Africa, we have a perse number of people and cultures, but we are all South African. National symbols such as a national…