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EventUnion leader, Moses Mayekiso is reported to be under arrest on his return from Sweden.
Moses Mayekiso was the General Secretary of the Metal and Allied Workers Union (MAWU) and became a member of the South African Communist Party (SACP)…
EventAlbert Luthuli delivers his Nobel Peace Prize Lecture
Albert Luthuli delivers his Nobel Lecture after receiving the Peace Prize the previous day. Luthuli was the first South African to receive the Nobel Prize for…
EventFidel Castro becomes Premier of Cuba
Before Fidel Castro took over the island state's government; Cuba was under the military rule of President Fulgeneio Batista. Castro was the leader of the 26…
EventFietas, site of forced removal in Johannesburg, is renamed Pageview
Fietas, a western suburb of Johannesburg, was officially re-named Pageview in honour of Mr. J.J. Page, the Mayor of Johannesburg at the time. Up until this…
EventThe official launch of the SABC
In 1934, General James Barry Munnik (JBM) Hertzog, prime minister of South Africa, ordered an official investigation into all aspects of Broadcasting in South…
EventHezekiel Sepeng is born
The athlete Hezekiel Sepeng is born in Potchefstroom, North West (then Western Transvaal). The ‘Potchefstroom Express’, as he was known, was scouted in one of…
EventCOSATU conference prohibited and organisers restricted
The government prohibited an anti-apartheid conference organised by COSATU in Cape Town, which aimed to include delegates from a broad spectrum of anti…
EventThe four corner stones of the castle (Kasteel de Goede Hoop) at the Cape are laid
On 2 January 1666 the four corner stones of the Castle of Good Hope (Kasteel van Goede Hoop) at the Cape were laid by Zacharias Wagenaer, Johan van Arckel,…
EventNelson Mandela marries Graça Machel on his 80th birthday
Nelson Mandela first married in 1944. He and his wife Evelyn had 2 children and divorced in 1957. A year later, he married Winnie Madikizela-Mandela. Their…
EventThe TRC is set up by parliament
The South African parliament approved legislation to set up the Truth and Reconciliation Commission in 1995. The Commission, based on the Promotion of National…
EventAlbert Einstein introduces his theory of relativity
In 1905, Albert Einstein had four papers published in the Annalen der Physik, the leading German physics journal. These are the papers that history has come to…
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…
EventGeneral Sir Redvers Henry Buller’s troops relieve British forces at Ladysmith
General Sir Redvers Henry Buller's troops relieved British forces at Ladysmith near Durban, KwaZulu Natal. The British forces had been under siege by the…
EventJazz musician Victor Ntoni dies at the Helen Joseph Hospital in Johannesburg
On 28 January 2013 Victor Mhleli Ntoni died of heart attack, after he was admitted to hospital on Thursday due to persistent cough. The famous jazz bass player…
EventLevy Mwanawasa, third President of Zambia dies in Paris , France.
Levy Patrick Mwanawasa was born in Northern Rhodesia (Now Zambia) in 1948. He studied law at the University of Zambia and went on to form his own law firm,…
EventSir de Villiers Graaff and Theo Gerdener jointly express their agreement to form a new party
In a joint declaration the leaders of the United Party (UP), Sir de Villiers Graaff and the Democratic Party (DP), Theo Gerdener, expressed their agreement to…
EventAfrikaans is used for the first time in an international document with the signing of the Convention of Mozambique in Pretoria
Afrikaans is one of the eleven official languages spoken in South Africa. It is a derivative of the Dutch, language spoken by settlers who arrived in the Cape…
EventAndré Phillipus Brink, well-known SA author, is born
South African novelist, Andre Phillipus Brink was born on 29 May 1935. Brink obtained his Bachelor of Arts degree in Literature at the University of…
EventFlorence Josephine Zerffi, SA still life and landscape painter, dies
Florence Louise Josephine Zerffi was born in 1882, London, England. She came to Cape Town in 1916 after studying art in London and at the Arts and Crafts…
EventA commemorative exhibition of the work of painter and cartoonist John Amshewitz opens in the City Hall in Johannesburg
John Henry Amshewitz was born in Ramsgate, England in 1882. He came to South Africa with the intention of only staying for six months but ended up staying for…
EventThe League of Nations grant Belgium the right to govern Rwanda
On 31 August 1923 the League of Nations passed a resolution granting Belgium the right to govern Rwanda and its southern neighbour Burundi, as the territory of…
EventWalter Sisulu secretly attends a meeting at the house of George Xorile with F. Van Rensburg
On 11 January 1963, African National Congress (ANC) member, Walter Sisulu attended a secret meeting at the house of George Xarile together with F. Van Rensburg…
EventSouth Africa begins occupation of South-West Africa
Few years after the Second Anglo-Boer War (11 Oct 1899 – 31 May 1902), the European continent got embroiled in hostilities, which culminated in the break out…
EventYusuf Dadoo, political activist, is born
On 5 September 1909, a tireless fighter for national and social liberation, Dr. Yusuf Mohamed Dadoo was born in Krugersdorp, Johannesburg. According to Essop…
January 8th Statements -Statement of the National Executive Committee on the occasion of the 94th Anniversary of the ANC - 8 January 2006
Compatriots: On the occasion of the 94th anniversary of the formation of the African National Congress, our movement salutes the people of South Africa and…
ArticleSummary: The Kingdom of Mali and the City of Timbuktu in the 14th Century
The Mali Empire (c. 1235-1600 CE)At its height, the Mali Empire stretched across more than 1.29 million square kilometres of West Africa, encompassing the…
Invitation to the TB Davie Memorial Lecture
You are invited to the 2017 TB Davie Memorial Lecture, where Professor Mahmood Mamdani will speak on “Decolonising the Post-Colonial University”. The lecture…
PlaceKing Edward VII High School, Houghton Estate, Johannesburg
In 1902, the end of the Second Anglo-Boer War was in sight. Plans were being made to reorganize the educational facilities in the Transvaal. These had…
Steve Biko: Gone but not forgotten by Robin Comley and Claire Keeton (Times Live), 12 September 2017
CHENGIAH “ROGERS” RAGAVEN was an arts student at the University of Natal “Non-European” Section and became a close friend of Steve Biko. He was elected…
Chapter 6 - The Birth of SACTU
From: Lessons of the 1950s By Richard Monroe, March-May 1984 Chapter 6 - The Birth of SACTU The formation of a trade union federation based on the African…