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EventA few days after deciding to establish a Dutch newspaper in South Africa, the name De Burger is chosen
On 24 May 1915, soon after it had been decided to establish a Dutch newspaper, the name of the newspaper, De Burger ("The Citizen"), was decided on. With…
EventFormer South African Prime Minister, P.W Botha, dies
Former SA prime minister and later State President from 1978 to 1989, Pieter Willem Botha, died peacefully at the age of 90 at his house Die Anker near…
EventEmily Hobhouse is born
On 9 April 1860, Emily Hobhouse was born in Liskeard, Cornwall. Hobhouse was a humanitarian and pacifist who vehemently opposed British government policy in…
EventJaramogi Oginga Odinga, Kenyan independence leader dies
Jaramogi Oginga Odinga was born in Bondo, Nyanza Province in Kenya in 1912. Odinga was a member of the second largest ethnic group in Kenya, the Luo. He…
EventJ.J. Hadebe replies to Thabo Mbeki’s plea
This Day in History, African National Congress (ANC) executive member in charge of youth affairs, J.J. Hadebe replied to Thabo Mbeki’s request to complete his…
EventProf. Raymond Arthur Dart, SA anthropologist and expert on the Taung skull, dies in Sandton, Johannesburg
Raymond Dart was born in Queensland Australia in 1893. One of nine siblings, he grew up on a farm herding cattle. He won a scholarship to study at the…
EventDouglas Portway, European-based South African artist, is born in Johannesburg
Douglas Portway was born in Johannesburg in 1922. He studied fine art at the Witwatersran Technical College and later taught at the University of Johannesburg…
EventPieter Willem Frederik Wenning, SA painter, is born in The Hague, Netherlands
Born in the Netherland, Pieter Wenning came to live in South Africa in 1905. Though he had settled in the Transvaal, he travelled all over South Africa and…
EventMau Mau political prisoners escape from Mageta Island, Lake Victoria
On 5 February 1956, 11 Mau Mau prisoners, serving life sentences escaped from Mageta Island, Lake Victoria in a canoe. This was after the prisoners hacked to…
EventEugene Terre Blanche, controversial leader of the AWB ( Afrikaner Resistance Movement), is born in Ventersdorp.
Eugene Terre'Blanche was born in Ventersdorp to staunchly Afrikaner nationalist parents on January 31, 1941. After matriculating he joined the South African…
EventThe Federation of South African Women (FEDSAW) is founded
In an attempt to organise a broad-based and inter-racial women's organisation, the Federation of South African Women (FSAW or FEDSAW) was launched on 17 April…
ArticleSocialism
Socialism is a political and economic ideology aiming to create a society where all members distribute resources and wealth equally. It is based on the belief…
ArchiveBiography of Ruth First by Cole Deal Ruth Demissie
Ruth First: An Ally of the Struggle Throughout the history of apartheid, freedom fighters were subjects of legal repression by the apartheid government who…
ArchiveChapter 12 Hangings by Denis Goldberg
After the escape of Tim, Stephen and Alex we who remained behind bore the consequences. The prison was rebuilt and we politicals were held in another prison…
PlaceOrkney, North West Province
Orkney is a small Town in the North West Province just outside Klerksdorp. It was established around, and known primarily for, its gold mining opportunities,…
Interview with Absolom Zithulele Cindi
Interview with Absolom Zithulele Cindi who was an activist in the black consciousness movement and later in the Azanian People's Organization and the trade…
PlaceBreakwater Prison, near Alfred Docks, Cape Town
It was declared a National Monument under old NMC legislation on 18 December 1970. The Breakwater Prison was constructed in 1860 to house British convicts…
PlaceGazebo, Civic Square
The elegant gazebo in the Civic Square was built in 1924. It was the home of a coach magnate, Doel Zeederberg, who established the first passenger stage-coach…
EventDeath of Maria Koopmans-De Wet
Marie Koopmans-De Wet followed in her father’s footsteps as she established herself in the social and cultural life of Cape Town. In 1864, she married Johan…
ArchiveJoint Statement on the Durban Riots, by A. W. G. Champion of the ANC (Natal) and Dr. G. M. Naicker of the Natal Indian Congress [n.d.]
JOINT STATEMENT ON THE DURBAN RIOTS, BY A.W.G. CHAMPION OF THE ANC (NATAL) AND DR. G.M. NAICKER OF THE NATAL INDIAN CONGRESS, 1949The African National…
EventKenneth David Kaunda wins Zambian elections
Kenneth David Kaunda wins Zambian elections and will become the first president of an independent republic on 24 October 1964. The victory of Kaunda in the…
EventSA is banned from the Olympic Games
In October 1963, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) decided in Baden Baden, Germany, that South Africa would have to eliminate racial discrimination in…
EventUN Security Council urges SA government to end Rivonia Trial
On June 9, 1964, just two days before the final verdict was reached, the UN Security Council passed a resolution urging the South African government to end the…
EventFollowing the infamous Treason Trial, ANC leader Chief Albert Luthuli is banished by the Apartheid Government for five years
Chief Albert John Luthuli, President of the African National Congress (ANC) from 1952 to 1967 and Nobel Peace Prize winner in 1961, was one of South Africa's…
EventThe first Non-White South African Table Tennis team participates at the World Championship
On 6 March 1957, the first South African Non-White sporting team participated at the World Table Tennis Board Championship in Stockholm, Sweden. They were…
EventBhekisani Manyoni, artist, is born in Greytown
On 6 September 1945, Bhekisani Manyoni was born in Greytown, Natal (now KwaZulu Natal). He later moved with his family to the Dundee area, near Rorke's Drift,…
EventWW2: A German bomb fired off Algeria’s coast sinks British transport ship (HMT Rohna) carrying US soldiers.
Built in 1926, the aging steam ship was pressed into service as a troop transport by the Royal Navy and had already carried thousands allied of troops to…
EventJacob Zuma, Former President of South Africa and of the ANC, is born.
Jacob Gedleyihlekisa Zuma was born on the 12 April 1942, at Inkandla, in KwaZulu Natal. At the age of 17, he joined the African National Congress (ANC),…
EventHerman Charles Bosman guilty of murder
When South African author Herman Charles Bosman visited his parents in Johannesburg during the June school holidays, his visit ended in tragedy in the house of…
EventTreason Trial of 16 UDF members resumes
Thirty years after the first Treason trial in 1956, 16 members of the United Democratic Front (UDF) were accused of treason in the Pietermaritzburg Supreme…