SAHO global search

1903-1985

John Koenakeefe Mohl

… Zeerust in the North-West Province. Mohl's father was a carpenter who sculpted objects such as chairs and mealie … class. Mohl's father eventually withdrew…

B-0008603

1931-1998

Justice John Mowbray Didcott

… Natal (now KwaZulu-Natal) in 1948, he went to the University of Cape Town where he obtained a BA in 1951 and an LLB in 1953. At university he involved…

B-0008005

1950-2014

Nikiwe Deborah Matshoba

… 1950. She was the second eldest of four daughters and a brother. Her father was the nephew of Samuel Matshoba, an adviser to Gijima, chief priest of the…

B-0080678

1946-2014

Mafika Pascal Gwala

… Gwala was born on 5 October 1946 in the town of Verulam, a region predominantly inhabited by Zulus and Indians, in … His father worked for the railways,…

B-0085150

unknown-2011

Rev George Wauchope

… University of Fort Hare in the early 1970s, and went on to join the Black People’s Convention (BPC) . After BPC was … O’Jays, Ray Charles, Champion Jack…

B-0065257

1921-1985

Florence Mophosho

… was the first of the three children. Florence's mother was a qualified teacher, but worked as a domestic worker. Household conditions forced Florence to drop…

B-0068096

1940

Mary Maria Burton

… Peter Ingouville, Burton and her family moved around in a few small towns in Argentina, due to her father’s business. The family moved to Brazil  when … in…

B-0085586

1450-1500

Bartolomeu Dias

… Bartolomeu Dias, also spelt: Bartholomew Diaz. He was a Portuguese navigator whose discovery in 1488 of the Cape of Good Hope showed Europeans there was a…

B-0008003

1928-2013

Judge Jan Hendrik Steyn

… Cape on 4 March 1928. His mother, Zerilda Steyn, was a pioneer of social welfare in South Africa, founding the … of Stellenbosch for their work. Their…

B-0097080

1942

Jacob Gedleyihlekisa Zuma

… His father constructed the middle name Gedleyihlekisa from a Zulu phrase, which translated into English reads, “I cannot keep quiet when someone pretends to…

B-0009268

1958

Jackson Mthembu

… in June 5th,1958 in Witbank.  He grew up in Kromkrans, a reserve for Black people between Hendrina and Carolina in … where he went with his grandmother Sarah…

B-0068150

1955

Shirley Gunn

… Gunn enrolled for a degree in social work in 1977 and after completion proceeded to study for her Honors degree. While studying for her Honors … Gunn became…

B-0095599

1800

Bishop Samuel Adjai Crowther

… showed the signs of greatness and it was clear that he had a future. The country frequently suffered from raids and … It was in 1821 that the community of…

B-0007965

1941

Barbara Mosima Joyce Masekela

… in Johannesburg . She was the second of four children born to Pauline and Thomas Selema Masekela. Her mother was a social worker in a family centre in…

B-0008460

1945

Graça Simbine Machel

… born on 17 October 1945, in Gaza, Mozambique , the last in a family of six children. Her father, a Methodist minister who had died three weeks before she was…

B-0008357

1920-2003

Rev. Theo Kotze

… 19 May 1920. Kotze came from Afrikaaner stock. His father, a lawyer, had been gaoled for supporting the Afrikaner … other members of his family, Kotze senior…

B-0080428

1915

Reverend Beyers Naudé

… May 1915. He was named after Christiaan Frederik Beyers, a Boer general who was close to his father, Jozua Naudé.  Naudé was one of eight children … met with…

B-0068227

1947-1985

Matthew Goniwe

… School, where he obtained his junior certificate.  As a boy, Goniwe played rugby and took part in boxing for a club in the township.  His love of music led…

B-0064852

1901-1966

Hendrik Frensch Verwoerd

… Anje Strik and Wilhelmus Johannes Verwoerd. His father was a shopkeeper and a deeply religious man who decided to move to South Africa in 1903 because of his…

B-0009202

1926-2021

Maniben Sita

… Marabastad ,  Pretoria ) in Transvaal (now Gauteng), into a highly politically-active family. Her father,  Nana Sita , … the TIC. Her father encouraged all…

B-0068475

1902-1996

Jane Gool

… Jane Gool – Tabata was born in Cape Town on 19 March 1902 to Yusuf and Wageda Gool, the sixth of nine children. Her … South Africa after spending some time…

B-0122124

1905-1985

Douglas Chadwick Thompson

… Douglas Chadwick Thompson was born on 8 August 1905 to David Chadwick Thompson and Kitty Brettle in Manchester, … from his studies in England he had…

B-0095356

1925-2020

John Kgwana Nkadimeng

… in 1925 and after completing primary school he worked as a domestic worker in Germiston where he remained for about a year. He returned home in 1945 and in…

B-0068262

1947

Dr Mamphela Aletta Ramphele

… child that saved her life. In 1955, Ramphele witnessed a conflict between a racist Dominee (Reverend) and the people of the village of Kranspoort that also…

B-0068381

1932-2008

Miriam Makeba

… was born in March 4th, in 1932 Johannesburg , during a time of economic depression. Her mother, a domestic worker, … was imprisoned for six months for…

B-0008394

1921-2020

Vusamazulu Credo Mutwa

… Mutwa’s parents met in 1920. At the time his father was a builder belonging to the Christian faith, while his mother (a young Zulu girl) practiced the…

B-0096731

1921-1980

President Seretse Khama

… Seretse’s name means ‘the clay that binds’, and referred to the reconciliation after a rift between his father and grandfather. In 1925 Seretse … Africa for…

B-0008250

1927-2009

Harriet Bolton

… in Southern Transvaal, the eldest of four children – a younger brother and two sisters. Her family moved around … six her parents settled down in Durban …

B-0066421

Piet Retief

… Cape Province. He was the fifth of 10 children of Jacobus, a farmer  and Debora Retief. His ancestors were from Provence … in Stellenbosch, Cape Province and…

B-0068386

1848-1916

James Mata Dwane

… was born in the Eastern Cape in 1848 and was raised as a Wesleyan. Ordained as a minister in 1881, he proved to be a man of great ability and strong…

B-0008036