SAHO global search

Stephanie Urdang

Stephanie Urdang was born in Cape Town, Cape Province (now Western Cape), to a family staunchly opposed to apartheid. Her father, a lawyer, worked in the…

B-0150555

1942

Terry Bell

Terence Albert Bell (Terry Bell) was born in Pretoria, Transvaal (now Gauteng), South Africa on 12 September 1942.  He married his fellow exile, Barbara,…

B-0150385

1969-1988

Lindiwe Charity Nyembezi Mthembu

Lindiwe Charity Nyembezi Mthembu was born on 28 February 1969 in KwaMashu, Natal (now KwaZulu-Natal). She was the fifth daughter born to Sonnyboy Nkwana and…

B-0150009

1927-2019

Adelaine Florence Hain

Anti-apartheid activist Adelaine Hain who was successively jailed, banned and exiled to Britain in Pretoria in the early 1960s died peacefully on 8 September,…

B-0149616

1872-1940

Abdullah Abdurahman

Abdurahman, who was born in Wellington (Cape Town ) on 18 December 1872 and graduated as a medical doctor from the University of Glasgow in 1893.He return to…

B-0141530

1947-2006

Maxwell Mduduzi Malinga

Maxwell Mduduzi Malinga, was one of South Africa’s most gifted and beloved fighters in the 1970s and 80s. He was born on 09 November 1947 at Steadville,…

B-0100310

1873-1905

Enoch Mankayi Sontonga

Enoch Mankayi Sontonga was born in Uitenhage, Eastern Province (now Eastern Cape) around 1873 as a member of the Xhosa-speaking Mpinga clan of the Tembu tribe…

B-0009097

1930-2013

Professor Bernard Magubane

Professor Bernard Makhosezwe Magubane was born on 26 August 1930 on a farm near Colenso in Natal (now kwaZulu-Natal). He was the son of labour tenants on a…

B-0095733

1905-1978

Moses Mauane Kotane

Moses Mauane Kotane was born at Tamposstad in the Rustenburg district of the western Transvaal on 9th of August in 1905, Kotane came from a devoutly Christian…

B-0008274

1948-2026

Mosiuoa Gerard Patrick "Terror" Lekota

Mosiuoa Gerard Patrick "Terror" Lekota was born in Kroonstad, Orange Free State (now Free State Province) on 13 August 1948, into a working-class family. He…

B-0008313

1935

Satyandranath “Mac” Maharaj

Mac Maharaj was born on the 22 April 1935, the fourth of the eight children of Mr and Mrs NR Maharaj of Newcastle, Natal. He matriculated at St Oswald's School…

B-0065611

1953

Nandisile Thoko Mpumlwana

Nandisile Thoko Mpumlwana (nèe Mbanjwa) was born in Melmoth, Zululand, Natal (now KwaZulu-Natal). A co-founding member of the Black Consciousness Movement (BCM…

B-0080909

1940

Sindiso Mfenyana

Background and Childhood Sindiso Mfenyana is descended from the Bhele clan, which is an offshoot of the Hlubi tribe. He traces his roots back to a small town…

B-0123703

1943-1989

Dr. Abu Baker Asvat

This article was written by Michelle Hayman and forms part of the SAHO Public History Internship The ‘People’s Doctor’ ‘He struggled to liberate…

B-0084103

1932

Mimi Coertse

Mimi Coertse was South Africa's first operatic prima donna."Prima donna", in its true sense, properly indicates the chief female vocalist in an opera company…

B-0007947

1948

Moses Jongizizwe Mayekiso

Moses Jongizizwe Mayekiso was born on 21 October 1948 in Askeaton, Cala district, Transkei. He was the eldest of 12 children to Ellen and Betwell Mayekiso. He…

B-0008505

1933-1986

Samora Machel

Samora Machel was born in 1933 and was raised in the village of Chilembene. He was a member of the Shangana ethnic group and his parents were poor. Machel…

B-0008358

1931-2011

Basil Lewis (Dolly) D’Oliveira

 Basil D’Oliveira (Dolly) was born on 4 October 1931, in Signal Hill, Cape Town of Indian-Portuguese heritage. According to South Africa’s racial laws, he was…

B-0070067

1957-2011

Gisele Wulfsohn

Gisèle Wulfsohn was a freelance photographer specialising in portraiture, education, health and gender issues. Gisèle studied Graphic Fine Art at the…

B-0009239

1929-2014

Sadie Forman

A fierce non-sectarian and advocate for racial equality and women’s rights, Sadie Forman (nee Kreel) was born in 1929. Her father, Bunim Idel Krill, a Yiddish…

B-0080054

1925-2020

John Kgwana Nkadimeng

John Kgwana Nkadimeng was born in Sekhukhuniland in the rural eastern Transvaal in 1925 and after completing primary school he worked as a domestic worker in…

B-0068262

1934

Reverend Mcebisi Osman Xundu

The Reverend Mcebisi Osman Xundu was born on the 11 June 1934, at Engcobo, Transkei, one of seven children of Regina and Amos Xundu.  He attended the local…

B-0068895

Bisho Jarsa

Article by Sandra Rowoldt Shell, University of Cape Town. When Neville Alexander used to visit his maternal grandmother Bisho Jarsa as a boy, he never…

B-0099923

1945-2025

David Hemson

David Hemson was born on 18 July 1945 in Durban, Natal. His father was a serviceman and by default Hemson was granted British citizenship. Hemson grew up in a…

B-0094484

1924-2010

Harry Heinz Schwarz

Harry Schwarz (born Heinz Schwarz) was born in Cologne, Germany (Weimar Republic) on 13 May 1924. Growing up in a Jewish family, Schwarz witnessed the rise of…

B-0148789

1928-2013

Phyllis Naidoo

Phyllis Naidoo was born in Estcourt, Natal (now kwaZulu-Natal) on the 5 January 1928. She was the daughter of Simon David, a teacher and principal. His…

B-0008734

1872-1940

Dr Abdullah Abdurahman

Dr Abdullah Abdurahman, who was born in Wellington (Cape Town ) on 18 December 1872 and graduated as a medical doctor from the University of Glasgow in 1893.He…

B-0007765

1898-1967

Chief Albert John Mvumbi Luthuli

Chief Albert John Mvumbi Luthuli, Africa’s first Nobel Peace Prize Laureate in 1960, was President-General of the African National Congress (ANC) from December…

B-0008345

1933-2019

Jennifer Davis

Jennifer was born in Johannesburg, South Africa in 1933. She grew up in what she described as a Jewish middle-class household where her pediatrician father was…

B-0149698