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11,508 records
EventGrammy Award winner Miriam Makeba is born in Johannesburg
Miriam Zenzile Makeba was born in Johannesburg on 4 March 1932 to a Swati mother and a Xhosa father. Her mother was a sangoma and a domestic worker while her…
EventWinnie Nomzamo Madikizela-Mandela is sentenced to six years
On 14 May 1991, Winnie Nomzamo Mandela, the then-wife of Nelson Mandela was sentenced to six years in jail by a Johannesburg court presided over by Justice…
EventA Second Plenary session of Multi Party negotiations for a transition to democracy in South Africa reconvene
The second plenary session of the Congress for a Democratic South Africa (CODESA II) was convened in Johannesburg. Unlike the first session CODESA II ended in…
EventWidespread violence and intimidation in 1996 Kwazulu-Natal
The prevalent violence in kwaZulu-Natal began with widespread interference during the voter registration process preceding the local government elections…
EventOlive Schreiner, noted SA author, dies in Wynberg, Cape Town
Olive Schreiner was a writer, social theorist and a feminist whose world views were very advanced for her time. Her books though written over a century ago,…
PlaceUniversity of the Free State, Main building, Bloemfontein
The cornerstone of the building was laid on 19 December 1907 by Sir Hamilton Gould-Adams, and was officially opened on 16 October 1909. The North and South…
EventSA Prime Minister, J.B. Vorster, vows to fight against terrorism
On 19 January 1973, South African Prime Minister J.B. Vorster confirms that there was no prior consultation with his government over Rhodesia's closure of its…
EventEdgar D. Ngoyi, South African ANC leader who spent seventeen years on Robben Island, is born.
Edgar Dumile Ngoyi was born on 26 December 1926 in the Eastern Cape. Ngoyi became politically active in the African National Congress (ANC) as a member of the…
Balfour Declaration 1926
SECRET 12 IMPERIAL CONFERENCE 1926 INTER-IMPERIAL RELATIONS COMMITTEE REPORT, PROCEEDINGS AND MEMORANDA E (I.R./26) Series (WITH SUBJECT INDEX) [This Document…
EventWendy Botha, South Africa’s world champion surfer is born
Wendy Botha was born in East London on 28 August 1965.[i] She began surfing at the age of 13, and won four consecutive South African National Championships…
Death of ANC Education Secretary, Seretse Choabi, 29 August 1991
The African National Congress regrets to announce the untimely and sudden death of Seretse Choabi in London on August 19, 1991. Seretse was born on 16 May…
PlaceAmandelboom, Town in Northern Cape
Original name being 'Willston', Afrikaans name for 'Almond tree'. These trees were found near the Rhenish Mission Station from which the Town developed. The…
EventCourt verdict made on the sinking of the SS Mendi
Following the sinking of the SS Mendi troopship, from which 616 South Africans lost their lives, there was an official and legal investigation done into the…
EventJoyce Mashamba passed away
Happy Joyce Mashamba passed away at the age of 67 after battling with a long illness, the details of which have not yet been disclosed to the public. [i] Born…
PlaceWynberg Park, Southern Suburbs
In the heart of Cape Town lies the beautiful Wynberg Park! This spans over an area of 22 square kilometres and showcases some of the Western Cape Vegetation,…
PlaceSalt River
The exact date when the Village of Salt River was established is not known but in 1665 the Settlement is recorded to have overlooked a Fjord over the River and…
EventSouth Africa is told by IAEA to open all nuclear plants to international inspection
On 28 September 1984, the 266th plenary meeting of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) was held. In a summary document of the meeting entitled 'South…
EventUDF men takes refuge in the US consulate
Murphy Morobe (Publicity Secretary), Valli Moosa (General Secretary), and Vusi Khanyile (National Education Crisis Committee) all of them senior members of the…
EventWolraad Woltemade drowns at sea after saving 14 people from a sinking ship
On 1 June 1773, the Jonge Thomas, a Dutch East India ship, was anchored at the mouth of the Salt River in Table Bay. In the early hours of the morning, a storm…
EventLord Charles Henry Somerset, governor of the Cape Colony, is born in Badminton, England
Lord Charles Somerset, who became the British Governor at the Cape from 1814 to 1826, was born in Badminton England on 12 December 1767. Under his term as…
EventThe Directors of the Dutch East India Company propose Hout Bay to Jan van Riebeeck as a possible area to settle some Dutch families
Hout Bay is a sheltered cove along South Africa's Cape Peninsula. Before European settlement, the area was populated by Khoisan hunter-gathers who lived…
EventMother Teresa is buried
Mother Teresa, the nun who captured the world's attention and accolades with her selfless devotion to the poor, was buried on 13 September 1997 in Culcutta,…
EventSouth African artist Gerard Sekoto is born
Jan Gerard Sekoto was born on 9 September 1913 in Botshabelo, a mission station established by the German missionaries amongst the Pedi community in the…
EventAnglo-Boer War 2: The British evacuate Rustenburg to occupy Commando Nek and Silkaatsnek
After the fall of Pretoria on 5 June 1900, the British maintained a favourable command of several strategic points in the Transvaal area. Western Transvaal…
PlaceNgcobo
On 1 November 1859, a day known in the Christian calender as All Saints Day, Chief Fubu of the amaQwathi met with Archdeacon Waters and the Rev John Gordon of…
PlaceTree Garden, President Brand Street, Bloemfontein
Along President Brand Street (Bloemfontein’s ‘historical mile’) you will find classic sandstone buildings that surprise with their grandeur - the 3rd Raadsaal …
Ahmed Kathrada pays tribute to Nelson Mandela, 6 December 2013
Madala, as you light-heartedly started calling me some years ago, it both grieves me and inspires me to write this to you now, with the hour of your death…
Document 109 - G. H. Gool and J. A. La Guma, “Appeal of the National Liberation League for a National Convention of the Subject Peoples of South Africa”, The Liberator, September 1937
From:South Africa's Radical Tradition, a documentary history, Volume One 1907 - 1950, by Allison Drew FELLOW NON-EUROPEANS, Business men, Professionals,…
Domestic work
Mr Speaker, Members of Parliament. THE GENERAL ELECTIONS on September the 6th, 1989, placed our country irrevocably on the road of drastic change. Underlying…
Press Conference in Lusaka: Oliver Tambo, 25 June 1985
Question: The ANC lays great emphasis on unity. How do you see the question of unity with such groups as PAC and other small groupings inside South Africa? …