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11,508 records
EventThe first recognised AIDS cases are reported in the USA
On 5 June 1981, the Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (USA) reported that 5 gay men in California were suffering from a rare pneumonia (Pneumocystis…
EventZambian president Kenneth Kaunda refuses to take part in UK
Kenneth David Kaunda was considered a key figure in the continuing conflict between Zimbabwean liberation movements and Ian Smith's Rhodesia. Zambia offered…
EventMilitary coup is executed in Lesotho
On 30 April 1991, the head of the Lesotho military, Maj.Gen Justin Lekhanya was ousted by rebel junior officers. The reasons for this coup was a long standing…
EventThree Zimbabwean intelligence officers stand trial for a bomb attack on an ANC house
Kevin Woods, Michael Smith and Philip Conjwayo were arrested in Zimbabwe in connection with the bombing that killed the driver of the car transporting the bomb…
EventJean van der Poel dies in Cape Town.
Jean Van der Poel was a historian and teacher who played an important role in the South African Teachers' Association and undertook several major historical…
EventOne-fifth of SA’s military infected with HIV virus, so HIV positive people are no longer accepted into their ranks
It was announced that at least one-fifth of South Africa's military was infected with the HIV virus that causes AIDS. Therefore on 7 October 2003 the Defence…
EventNelson Rolihlahla Mandela passed away
The 5th of December marks the anniversary of the death of revolutionary anti-Apartheid liberation leader, Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela, whose vision and respect…
PlaceRondebosch
In 1657 a group of four free burghers were granted land in an area south of Table Bay at the Cape of Good Hope. Jan van Riebeeck, the Dutch commander at the…
EventState of emergency declared in 27 townships
The government imposed a state of emergency in 27 townships in the Vaal Reef area and banned the carrying of all weapons. The regulations introduced by…
EventRenowned Nigerian writer, Chinua Achebe, is born in Ogidi, Nigeria
Chinua Achebe (1930-) is a prominent Igbo (Ibo) writer, famous for his novels describing the effects of Western customs and values on traditional African…
PlaceJohannesburg Botanical Garden
The Johannesburg Botanical Garden is located in the suburb of Emmarentia in Johannesburg. The gardens were established in 1964 as a large rose garden and…
PlaceTokai Arboretum, Tokai Forest
The Arboretum was laid out in 1885 by Joseph Storr Lister, Conservator of Forests of the Western Conservancy of the Cape Colony, thus marking the beginnings of…
EventUnited Democratic Front member dies after asthma attack
On October 1986, Mr Mbuyiseli Songelwa, a Queenstown community leader and high profile member of the United Democratic Front,died in police custody. He was…
PlaceHouse of Parliament, Cape Town
The houses of South African Houses of Parliament are situated in Cape Town even though the seat of government is in Pretoria. This was part of a compromise…
PlaceCora Terrace Houses (1,3,5,7,9,11), Port Elizabeth
This beautiful Georgian home was built in the 1850’s to house soldiers guarding the port of Port Elizabeth. Situated in picturesque surroundings, you can walk…
EventSouth Sudan is declared an independent state
After five decades of unrest and civil war, South Sudan was granted independence on 9 July 2011 with the town of Juba as a capital. The declaration of…
EventTwenty former SA political prisoners launched a campaign against apartheid laws
Twenty former South African political prisoners, in defiance of the restriction orders the regime imposed on them after their release, launched a campaign…
EventThe Natives Resettlement Act, Act No 19 of 1954 is passed
The Natives Resettlement Act, Act No 19 of 1954 empowered the Government to remove Africans from any area within and next to the magisterial district of…
EventThe 25th Summer Olympics opens in Barcelona, Spain
On 25 July 1992, the 25th Summer Olympics opened in Barcelona, Spain. Barcelona was chosen ahead of Amsterdam, Brisbane, Birmingham, Belgrade and Paris who had…
EventBoxing legend, Dingaan Thobela thwarts a hijacking at his home in Johannesburg
On 27 September 2006, Boxing legend Dingaan Thobela 'The Rose of Soweto' arrived home only to be greeted by hijackers as he was about to enter his Kelvin home…
EventA delegation of seven Coloured leaders meets with SA Prime Minister Vorster to discuss the future of the Coloured community
A seven-man delegation of Coloured leaders flies from Cape Town to Pretoria to meet South African Prime Minister, John Vorster for discussions on the future of…
EventThe Bantu Homelands Citizenship Bill is passed
The Bantu Homelands Citizenship Bill is passed, whereby every African is issued with a certificate of citizenship of his respective 'homeland'. The homelands…
EventMandela is awarded the Joliot Curie Gold Medal for Peace
The paper 'Leader' announced that African National Congress (ANC) leader Nelson Mandela has been awarded the Joliot Curie Gold Medal for Peace the previous…
EventSeparate Representation of Coloured Voters Act is passed
Following years of struggle in courts and abortive parliamentary attempts to pass the Separate Representation of Coloured Voters Bill, the act was passed after…
EventThe South African cricket team beats England for the first time on English soil
Cricket in South Africa was established by the British, and the first tour by a side from England took place in 1888-89. Here South Africa played its first…
EventEnoch Mgijima dies
Enoch Mgijima (Mgizima), Fingo prophet of the Israelites sect in the Eastern Cape, died in Ntabelanga, Queenstown. His followers, believing Enoch's claim that…
EventP.W. Botha becomes SA’s first Executive President
South Africa's Prime Minister since 1978, P.W. Botha, was unanimously elected by eighty-eight members of the Electoral College to the office of first executive…
EventThozamile Botha breaks banning order
Port Elizabeth Black Civic Organisation (PEBCO) activist Thozamile Botha broke his banning order and escaped to Lesotho. PEBCO was an affiliate of the banned…
EventUniversity of Stellenbosch in a historic move
The University of Stellenbosch announced that it was to open its doors to Black, Coloured and Asian students for all post-graduate degrees and would also…
EventMalawian President Hastings Banda visits SA
Following a visit by South Africa's Prime Minister B.J. Vorster to Malawi in May 1970, President Hastings Banda of Malawi became the first head of an…