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PlaceAndalusia, Cape and Transvaal Border
Former name of Jan Kempdorp. Named after the region in southern Spain, which was the ancient maritime kingdom of Tarshish. Jan Kempdorp was laid out on the…
PlaceKwaDukuza
In July 1825, King Shaka, son of Senzangakhona and Nandi, who was the king of the Zulus from 1816, established a royal settlement as a halfway station between…
EventDiplomatic ties are established between SA and Saudi Arabia
On 29 May 1994 the South African government signed an agreement establishing diplomatic relations with the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. The diplomatic relations…
EventJan Ernst Abraham Volschenk, landscape painter, is born near Riversdale, Western Cape
Jan Volschenk was a self taught painter who specialised and excelled in the landscape genre. He found inspiration from his local surroundings of Riversdale and…
EventThe Soweto Uprising leaves 174 blacks and two whites dead following 10 days of rioting
The student-led protests in Soweto in 1976 known as the Soweto Uprising claimed many lives and left many injured. The protests began in Soweto schools and…
EventThe launch of the Progressive Women’s Movement of SA
On 8 August 2006, hundreds of women gathered in Bloemfontein to launch a new national women’s movement, a non-profit organisation called the Progressive Women…
EventWalter Sisulu and others are arrested for attending a party
Walter Sisulu, Lillian Ngoyi and Alfred Nzo were arrested after attending a party that was used as a cover up for a political meeting at the house of Lillian…
EventLadysmith Black Mambazo, male choral group, win a Grammy Award
Ladysmith black Mambazo won their second Grammy Award on 13 February 2005 for their album Wenyukela. A hybrid of the album was released in the United States…
EventLibya becomes independent
Libya declared its independence as a constitutional and hereditary monarchy under King Idris I. It was the first country to achieve autonomy through the…
EventWWII: SA troops to fight in Europe
South African prime minister, General J.C. Smuts, asked parliament's approval to send troops to Europe, contrary to his promise in 1939 that SA troops would…
EventSpringboks lose to the Lions
The South African national rugby team became known as the Springboks on their tour to Britain in 1906. Since those early years, teams from abroad repeatedly…
EventNovelist and historian Bessie Head is born
Novelist, short story writer and social historian Bessie Amelia Head was born in Pietermaritzburg. Being the daughter of a White mother (who was disowned by…
EventMilton Obote (81), Uganda’s former dictator, dies in a South African hospital
Obote, a member of the legislative council of Uganda from 1957, founded the Uganda People's Congress in 1960. Obote became Uganda's Prime Minister after…
EventEleven people are killed at Donnybrook, Kwazulu
The killing of eleven people at Donnybrook, Kwazulu-Natal on the 21 March 1996 can be considered as part of the ongoing rivalry between supporters of the…
EventPresident Mandela addresses the National assembly of Mali
On the 2 March 1996, President Nelson Mandela paid his first state visit to Mali. While there, he addressed the National Assembly at Bamako where he emphasised…
EventSouth Africa concludes an agreement with the Marconi Company for a high
During the South African War in 1899, Marconi wireless equipment was tested in South Africa, with mixed results. Land-based military radio proved problematic,…
EventBrett Kebble, SA millionaire and director of mining companies, linked to several cases of alleged fraud, is born
Roger Brett Kebble was born on 19 February 1964 in Springs, on the East Rand. In the 1990’s Kebble got into mining and was soon director of three mining…
EventEducationist George Molefe is born
Mbanga James George Benjamin Molefe, clergyman and headmaster, was born in Mbulwana, Ladysmith, Natal. Molefe was one of the first black Presbyterian ministers…
EventFormer South African Prime Minister JG Strijdom dies
Johannes Gerhardus (JG) Strijdom was born in 1893 in the Cape Colony. He trained as a lawyer at the Victoria College (now Stellenbosch University). Strijdom…
EventSA jazz singer, Letta Mbulu is born in Soweto
Letta Mbulu was born in Soweto on 23 August 1942. As a teenager she joined the cast of the play King Kong and toured the US with other artists like Miriam…
EventBarry Hough, SA literary critic and successful author of mainly teenage books is found dead
Barry Micheal Hough was a literary critic and author of Afrikaans teenage fiction. He was born in Johannesburg in 1953. He obtained a BA Communications degree…
Event5,580 Egyptian prisoners of war are exchanged for four Israelis held by Egyptian troops
5,580 Egyptian prisoners of war were exchanged for four Israelis held by Egyptian troops following the Tripartite Invasion (Israel, Britain and France). The…
EventChiliboy Ralepelle becomes the first black player to lead the Springboks against a World XV in England
Rugby player, Mahlatse Chiliboy Ralepelle was born in Tzaneen on 11 September 1986. Ralepelle moved to Pretoria and attended Pretoria Boys High School, where…
EventLady Diana Spencer is killed in a car accident in Paris
Lady Diana Spencer, simply known as Princess Diana was born in 1961. She married the Prince of Wales and heir to the throne of England, Charles, and became the…
EventBenjamin Mzimkulu Macala, SA artist, is born
Benjamin Mzimkulu (Ben) Macala was born in Bloemfontein, Orange Free State (now Free State). As a young boy he tended cattle on a farm in the Free State and…
EventThe Azanian People’s Organisation (AZAPO) is founded after the government banned a host of BCM organisations in October 1977.
In the aftermath of the 16 June 1976 Uprising, in Soweto, Johannesburg, the apartheid government banned all the organisations under the Black Consciousness…
EventDr Hendrik Johannes van der Bijl, SA industrialist who laid the foundation for the establishment of Escom and Iscor, is born in Pretoria
Hendrik Johannes van der Bijl, was born on 23 November 1887 in Pretoria. Van der Bijl was born into a very influential family as his father was a produce…
Hastings Banda, the early years by Angela Thompsell updated 01 March 2016
Hastings Banda was one of the more enigmatic “Big Men” of the post-independence era in Africa. He was Malawi’s first President and ruled the country for 30…
A Brief History of Niger - Part 2 by US Department of State
From Military Chairman to President of the Republic: After dissolving the national electoral committee, Ibrahim Baré Maïnassara organized and won a flawed…
Launch of the Luthuli Volunteer Corps, 12 June 2013
The African National Congress in the Northern Cape will be launching the Luthuli Volunteer Corps; thousands of volunteers of the ANC dressed in gold overalls…