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EventA military coup deposes the Lesotho Government
On 15 January 1986, General Justin Lekhanya, the Head of the Lesotho Army, ousted Lesotho prime minister Chief Leabua Jonathan in a military coup. Jonathan had…
EventSusanna Kok, SA medical missionary whose work led to the effective diagnosis and treatment of leprosy, dies
Susanna Helena Kok was born in 1911 in the Free State. She studied medicine at the Universities of Cape Town and the Witwatersrand and became a missionary…
EventThe Azanian People’s Liberation Army (APLA) disbands
The Azanian People's Liberation Army (APLA) was the underground military wing of the Pan African Congress (PAC). APLA was formed in the 1960s, after the…
EventThe first Comrades Marathon takes place
The first Comrades Marathon was run by Vic Clapham, ex World War One veteran and other 34 runners, who initiated it as a reunion. Clapham wanted to remember…
EventHansi Pauline Pollak, welfare worker and social activist, is born
Hansi Pauline Pollak was born in Johannesburg in 1905. She served as an officer in command of the Women Army Auxiliary Services during the World War II. In…
EventFrederick Lugard, British colonial administrator, occupies Kano, West Africa
Frederick Lugard was the British colonial administrator of West Africa from 1895. He was one of the foremost practitioners of the colonial system of indirect…
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…
EventFirst postage stamp in Africa is issued in the Cape Colony
On 1 September 1853, the first adhesive postage stamp in Africa was issued in the Cape of Good Hope, a British colony at the time. The triangular shaped stamp…
EventDr Wilson Carswell, medical adviser to the government’s Aids unit, says about 100 000 South Africans are infected with HIV
On 21 May 1991 the medical adviser to the government, Dr Wilson Carswell made the shocking announcement that 100 000 South Africans are infected with the Human…
PlaceOld Court House, Victoria Embankment, Durban
The building was designed by architect Stanley Hudson and was erected in 1911 as the Old Court House, and is the oldest public building in the central business…
EventEdgar Wallace (56), author and newspaper editor in South Africa, dies in Hollywood.
Richard Horatio Edgar Wallace was born in London in 1875. His mother, unmarried and struggling to make a living, gave him up for adoption when he was nine…
Freedom In Our Life Time - List of Photographs
From the book: Freedom In Our Life Time by Anton Muziwakhe Lembede Anton Lembede's primary school class, Umbumbulu, 192.7 (Bemadette Sibeko) Inset of…
PlaceRainbow Restaurant and Jazz Club, Durban
The Rainbow Restaurant opened its doors for trade on Thursday 17 December 1981. It was the first such establishment of its kind in KwaZulu Natal, located in a…
A Brief History of Niger - Part 1 by US Department of State
Early Humans: Considerable evidence indicates that about 600,000 years ago, humans inhabited what has since become the desolate Sahara of northern Niger. Long…
ArticleThe caring nature of Nontsikelelo Albertina Sisulu
Nontsikelelo Albertina has been described countless times as a caring and service-oriented individual who spent her life lifting up those around her, whether…
English Settlement in South Africa
British presence in the Cape between the 1600s and 1795 was largely confined to the shores of the Cape and Table Bay as a halfway stop by the East India…
ArticleTreks & Land conflicts timeline 1602-1966
1602 20 March, The Dutch East India Company (VOC) comes into being. 1652 Jan van Riebeeck, a representative of the Dutch East India Company (VOC),…
PlaceBennebroek Wreck, Hamburg
On the 16t of February 1713, the Bennebroek which was an 'East Indiaman'- which is a large sailing vessel. This type of sailing vessel's were built from in the…
Working Life - Factories, Township and Popular Culture 1886 - 1940 - ‘Locations’ For Labour
From the book: Working Life - Factories, Township and Popular Culture 1886 - 1940 by Luli Callinicos Topic We have seen how altered conditions gave rise to a…
EventTwo prisoners sentenced to death for sodomy
Claas Blanc and Rijkaert Jacobsz were two prisoners on Robben Island who had been accused of ‘mutually perpetrated sodomy’ according to trial records from the…
ArchiveFrom conscience politics to the battlefield
This thesis examines the ways in which the Liberal Party - the Natal Division in particular attempted to become an effective political force in South Africa…
EventAnatii, the South African rapper is born
Anathi Bhongo Mnyango, stagename Anatii was born in Bisho, Eastern Cape on 8 January 1993. [1] He is a South African rapper. Anatii produced and wrote the hit …
PlaceMLR-cannon, Middle North Battery, Simonstown
The gun was designed in 1865 as a broadside gun for ironclad ships and harbour seafront defence. A total of 190 were made. The gun was last fired in 1903…
PlaceBeach houses, Main Road, Muizenberg
These properties, located between Muizenberg and St James, are the only remaining concentration of early 20th century Edwardian beach houses in South Africa,…
PlaceTime Ball Tower, Table Bay Harbour, Cape Town
This structure was erected in 1883 and was used as a repeater-station for harbour signals between the observatory and Signal Hill. In 1895 its height was…
EventMoïse-Kapenda Tshombé becomes the Prime Minister of the Congo
On 10 July 1964 MoÁ¯se-Kapenda Tshombé, leader of the Confederation of Tribal Associations of Katanga, became the Prime Minister of the Congo (now known as…
PlaceDiamond Hill Battle, Garden of Remembrance
The site of the Battle of Diamond Hill, which took place on the 11th and 12th June 1900, in which 14000 British soldiers and 4000 Boers engaged in battle…
PlaceDutch Reformed Church, Zoutpansberg
The Nederduits Gereformeerde congregation of Zoutpansberg was established at Renosterpoort, by S Hofmeyr, in September 1872, with Rev PJJ Boshoff as its first…
PlaceIrish House, Polokwane Museum
Right in the centre of the city of Polokwane is Irish House, a Victorian building that was prefabricated and moved complete to the City by a German immigrant,…
EventProf. Hudson Ntsanwisi, former Chief Minister of Gazankulu, dies in Johannesburg
Hudson William Edison Ntsan’wisi was born in Shiluvane Mission Station in Tzaneen on 11 July 1920. He was the eldest of three children of Mlungisi and Evelyn…