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7,061 records
PlaceMaitland
The railway line from Cape Town reached Maitland on 13 February 1862. The 1891 census indicated that Maitland had a population of 2,035. By 1904, this number…
PlaceMcgregor Museum, Kimberley
Longtime museum with diverse exhibits including: Paleontology; Ethnography & Zoology collections. The McGregor Museum was originally located in Chapel Street,…
PlaceRiversdale, Western Cape
In August 1838 the Dutch Reformed Church (DRC) at Swellendam established a new Parish on the Farm 'Doornkraal', on the banks of the Vet River, near the…
EventThe Afrikaans Protestant Church, a breakaway faction of Dutch Reformed Church, is formed
Horrified by apparent infiltration of the Dutch Reformed Church (DRC) by non-whites, right-wingers formed their own Church for white Afrikaners only. This…
EventSouth African Students Movement leaders meet to plan protest action against the implementation of Afrikaans
The Naledi High School branch of the South African Students Movement (SASM) held a meeting, which was attended by representatives of all Soweto high schools,…
EventPresident Paul Kruger and Sir Alfred Milner meet in Bloemfontein to discuss the franchise question
On 30 May 1899 President Paul Kruger and the British High Commissioner for South Africa, Sir Alfred Milner, met at a conference in Bloemfontein to talk about…
PlaceNational Botanic Gardens, Pretoria
The Botanical Gardens had been founded in 1946. After the University of Pretoria granted approval to the Department of Agriculture for the development of a…
PlaceGrey Institute/School, Port Elizabeth
During the 1850s Sir George Grey, Governor of the Cape from 1854-61, played a leading role in the establishment of educational institutes throughout the colony…
EventRobert Sobukwe is sentenced to three years’ imprisonment
Founding member and president of the Pan Africanist Congress, Robert Mangaliso Sobukwe, was sentenced to three years' imprisonment for incitement of Blacks to…
EventThe PAC is formed
An Africanist group led by Robert Sobukwe and Potlako Leballo were frustrated by the multi-racial character of the African National Congress (ANC). They echoed…
EventHugh Masekela, South African musician, is born
On 4 April 1939 Hugh Ramopolo Masekela, South African musician, was born in Witbank, South Africa. Masekela grew up playing the piano and at a young age was…
EventThree ANC members are sentenced to death
Three African National Congress members, Telle Simon Mogoerane, Jerry Semano Mosololi, and Marcus Thabo Motaung, were sentenced to death for separate attacks…
EventSix PAC members are sentenced for the killing of PAC leader David Sibeko
David Maphgumzana Sibeko began his political career as a journalist for the South African magazine Drum. Sibeko joined the Pan Africanist Congress (PAC) during…
EventConnie Mulder announces banning off WCC officials from SA
The Minister of the Interior, Connie Mulder, announces that senior officials of the World Council of Churches (WCC) have been banned from South Africa. Entry…
EventSWAPO attacks SAP
The South African Police Force (SAP) stationed in the Caprivi Strip, bordering Zambia, suffered casualties in clashes with 'terrorists'. South West African…
EventAdvocate Anton Lubowski secretary-general of the SWAPO is assassinated
Advocate Anton Lubowski (37), secretary-general of the South West African People's Organisation (Swapo), was shot dead at close range with an AK47 rifle…
EventBartholomew Dias, Portuguese discoverer of the Cape of Good Hope, drowns at sea
The first European known to set foot on South African soil was Bartholomew (or Bartolomeu) Dias. In December 1487 Dias sailed down the African coast, landing…
EventMagnus Malan and Constand Viljoen deny knowledge of mass graves
Former Minister of Defence Magnus Malan and General Constand Viljoen, former commander of the South African Defence Force (SADF), denied accusations on two…
EventAnglo American announces switching of main listing to London
Anglo American Corporation, founded in 1917 by Sir Ernest Oppenheimer to exploit the gold fields of the East Rand, announced that it intended to transfer its…
EventAWB leader, Eugene TerreBlanche, is convicted of attempted murder and assault
On 23 April 1997, Eugene TerreBlanche, leader of the Afrikaner Weerstands Beweging (AWB) was convicted on two counts, for attempted murder and assault in a…
EventDe Kock is convicted of six killings
The Supreme Court convicted former Police Colonel Eugene de Kock (dubbed 'Prime Evil') of six murders of Black anti-apartheid activists during his service as…
EventTrevor Manuel unveils GEAR
In a long-anticipated move the recently appointed Minister of Finance, Trevor Manuel announced the government's macro-economic strategy, called Growth,…
EventEbola virus kills 153 people in Zaire
Ebola Hemorrhagic Fever (EBF) also known as Ebola virus a virus that kills its host by attacking the lining of the cells and coagulating the blood in the…
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…
EventThe Draft South Africa Act is signed
Following the National Convention held by four British colonies, namely, Transvaal, Orange, Natal and Cape, the draft South Africa Act was signed in…
EventKing Leopold II of Belgium hands over the administration of the Congo to the Belgian parliament
From the beginning of colonialism in the 1880s following the 'scramble for Africa', the Congo had been regarded as Leopold II's personal fiefdom. Leopold's…
EventKitchener’s opinion on Concentration Camps
During Anglo-Boer War 2 (also called South African War) between the two former Boer Republics (the South African Republic and the Orange Free State Republic)…
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…
EventSouth African Communist Party leader, Dr. Yusuf Mahomed Dadoo dies
A political activist and Chairman of the South African Communist Party (SACP), Dr. Yusuf Mahomed Dadoo died on 19 September, 1983, after having lapsed into a…