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EventCharlotte Maxeke dies
Charlotte Makgomo Maxeke, teacher, social worker, politician and founder of the Bantu Women's League of South Africa, died in Johannesburg at the age of 65. In…
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…
EventA national congress, under auspices of the Dutch Reformed Church, meets to discuss the ‘poor White problem’
The 'poor White problem' or the Armblankevraagstuk as it was referred to in Afrikaans, was a significant political issue in South Africa in the late 19th…
EventThe Balfour Declaration is accepted
The 1926 Imperial Conference, held in London from 25 October, accepted the Balfour Declaration, named after Lord Arthur Balfour who chaired the drafting…
EventZimbabwe becomes a member of the United Nations (UN)
Zimbabwe's pre-colonial history is synonymous with the ruins of Great Zimbabwe, after which the country is now named. Following colonisation by Britain,…
EventThe Azanian People’s Organisation is formed
The Azanian People's Organisation (AZAPO) was formed at an inaugural conference in Roodepoort, near Johannesburg. The organisation was based on the philosophy…
EventSipho Malaza allegedly dies in detention
A Black high school student, Sipho Malaza, presumably died on this day thirty years ago while in Security Police custody. His death was the twenty-first in…
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…
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…
Maqubela and Dyandyi are sentenced for necklacing
City Press reported that Wonke Maqubela and Neliswa Nohnuhna Dyantyi Busika, accused in a necklace trial in Stutterheim, Eastern Cape, and found guilty of…
EventSamora Machel, president of Mozambique, dies in a plane crash
On 19 October 1986, the Mozambique President, Samora Machel and thirty-three other passengers, died when their Tupolev 134 plane crashed into the Lebombo…
EventBreyten Breytenbach; SA poet, activist and painter, receives the Hertzog Prize for his poetry
Breyten Breytenbach, South African poet, painter and activist, received the Hertzog Prize for his two Afrikaans poetry volumes, an elegy 'Oorblyfsels: 'n…
EventDiscovery of the wreck of passenger liner SS Waratah
On 26 July 1909, the SS Waratah, with 211 passengers and crew departed from Durban bound for Cape Town, and disappeared without a trace. For 90 years the fate…
EventSA President Nelson Mandela to step down
On 7 July 1996, in a television broadcast President Nelson Mandela confirmed the rumours that he would not stand for re-election in 1999. This is in accordance…
EventSA author Hymne Weiss is born
South African author and translator of books into Afrikaans from six European languages, Hymne Weiss, was born on the farm Goedemoed, Rouxville district,…
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…
EventGerman action in Herero Revolt is condemned in the Reichstag
August Bebel, representing the German Social Democratic Party (SPD) in the German Reichstag (Parliament), condemned the "suppression war" against the Ovaherero…
EventJohn Koenakeefe Mohl, SA artist is born
On 29 September 1903, John Koenakeefe Mohl, South African artist and founding member of Artists Under The Sun, was born at Dinokana village in Lehurutshe,…
EventRobert Koch announces the discovery of a rinderpest vaccine
On 10 February 1897, Robert Koch, a German bacteriologist, discovered a vaccine successful in the prevention of the animal disease, rinderpest. Robert Koch…
EventM.K. Gandhi is forcibly removed from a whites-only train carriage
On 7 June 1893, M.K Gandhi, later known as "The Mahatma" or "Great Soul" was forcibly removed from a whites-only carriage on a train in Pietermaritzburg, for…
PlaceFort Beaufort
Initially the division of Fort Beaufort fell under the district of Albany, and was proclaimed a separate division on 8 March 1848. At that stage its area also…
EventNqwiliso cedes land to Cape Government
Nqwiliso, tribal chief of Western Pondoland and eldest son of Ndamase, signed a treaty with H.G. Elliott in which he ceded sovereign rights and shipping in the…
EventPrime Minister Verwoerd’s assassin transferred from prison to a mental asylum
On 30 June 1994, the Minister of Correctional Services in South Africa, Dr Sipho Mzimela, announced that Dimitri Tsafendas, the parliamentary messenger who…
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…
EventThe SA government gives limited powers of internal self-government to Damaraland
Prior to 1870, the Damara people occupied most of central Namibia, but large numbers were displaced or killed in clashes. When the first Europeans visited…
EventTodd Tozama Matshikiza, musician, composer and writer, is born in Queenstown, Eastern Cape
Todd Tozama Matshikiza was born to a musical family in Queenstown in the Eastern Cape on 7 March 1921. He obtained music and teaching diplomas and took up a…