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EventCurnick Ndlovu, Trade Unionist, is arrested.
Curnick Ndlovu was the secretary of the South African Congress of Trade Unions (SACTU) and a member of the African National Congress (ANC). He was a leader of…
EventJoost Van Der Westhuizen, Springbok rugby scrum-half and captain, is born
Former rugby player Joost van Der Westhuizen was born 20 February 1971. Van Der Westhuizen was at the height of his career during the mid 1990’s and early 2000…
EventThe South African Government passes the Group Areas Act
Apartheid as a system was obsessed with separating the citizens of South Africa on a racial basis. This was done to foster White superiority and to entrench…
EventSA artist Mmakgoba Sebidi is born
South African artist Mmakgoba Helen Sebidi was born in Marapyane (Skilpadfontein) in the Hammanskraal area. Her grandmother, a traditional artist, was her…
EventAndries Dreyer, church archivist and collector of Africana, dies
Andries Dreyer was born on 10 January 1872 in Philadelphia, in the present day Western Cape Province. After studying at the Normal College in Cape Town, be…
EventAdriaan Vlok is born
Former South African minister of law and order, Adriaan Johannes Vlok, was born in Sutherland, Cape Province. He started his career in the department of…
EventThe Table Mountain cableway, one of the biggest tourist attractions in Cape Town, is inaugurated
On 4 October 1929 the Table Mountain cableway, one of the world’s biggest tourist attractions in Cape Town, was inaugurated. The official ceremony was opened…
EventA South African Defence Force Capt. Wynand du Toit is captured in Angola
During the raid on the Cabinda oil refinery, Angola, on the 21 May 1985, Capt. Wynand du Toit was taken captive, and two other South African commandoes were…
EventBritish pop star, David Essex, claims to have been quoted out-of-context regarding his return to perform in South Africa.
British pop star, David Essex, claims he is quoted out-of-context about his return to South Africa to perform to a racially exclusive audience In an…
EventCall for a stay-away in Black townships
A stay-away by Black workers in the industrial areas of the Witwatersrand and the Vaal Triangle is called by Black unions and civic groups in protest over…
EventGriffiths Mxenge is murdered
Griffiths Mxenge, an African National Congress (ANC) veteran and apartheid activist, was assassinated and his body was severely mutilated in an act of barbaric…
EventRight wing Wit Kommando bombs academic’s office
The office of a member of Prime Minister P.W. Botha's team, responsible for drawing up plans for a Southern African Constellation of States, Professor Jan…
EventPresident Vorster challenges Dr Rhoodie
In a lengthy statement, President B.J. Vorster challenged Dr. Eschel Rhoodie to release any document that would implicate him in the Information Affair. He…
EventRhodesia adopts new constitution
Chief among the factors that led to the adoption of a new constitution in Rhodesia on the 30 January 1979 (now Zimbabwe) was that Ian Smith, the Rhodesian…
EventPAC leader Robert Sobukwe is released
Pan-Africanist Congress leader, Robert Sobukwe, was arrested after the Sharpeville anti-pass campaign of 1960 and harshly sentenced to three years in prison…
EventFourteen are killed in Phola Park violence
Phola Park, East Rand: As township warfare spreads, a woman grieves over her husbands death, following a night attack by residents of nearby Zulu hostel. She…
EventAdelaide Tambo returns to South Africa after 30 years
Adelaide Tambo became politically active after her grandfather's arrest at the age of ten. While she attended high school, she started to work as a courier for…
EventThe Pope arrives in Lesotho
The Pope arrives in Lesotho Pope John Paul , leader of the Catholic Church arrives in Lesotho amidst a hijacking crisis that revealed Lesotho's dependence on…
EventSchools closed in the Western Cape
Carter Ebrahim, Minister of Education and Culture for the mixed race community, announced that 454 out of a total of over 900 schools were going to be closed…
EventYouth rage follows the funeral of Victoria Mxenge
Political violence by the youth began after the funeral of assassinated Victoria Mxenge, a civil rights lawyer, who was respected and liked by the Congress of…
EventFearon Fallows, first Astronomer Royal at the Cape, is born in England
Fearon Fallows, the first Astronomer Royal at the Cape, was born in Cockermouth, Cumberland on 4 July 1789. The son of a weaver, he was brought up in the…
EventResearchers proclaim they found a type of SIVcpz that is almost identical to HIV
On 4 February 1999 a group of researchers from the University of Alabama proclaimed that they had found a type of Simian Immunodeficiency Viruses (SIVcpz)…
EventPW Botha refuses to testify before the TRC
Former President P. W. Botha declared that he would never testify before the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC). He also stated that he would never…
EventThe South African Reserve Bank is established
The South African Reserve Bank was established in terms of the Currency and Banking Act, 1920 (Act No. 31 of 1920) in Parliament.This came into being after a…
EventThe Afrikaner Broederbond is formed
On 5 June 1918 disaffected Afrikaners were brought together in a new organisation called Jong Suid-Afrika (Young South Africa). In 1919 the organisation…
EventHelen Suzman is born
Politician and Anti-Apartheid activist, Helen Suzman, was born in Germiston, South Africa. During her 36 years in Parliament she defended the right to freedom…
EventChief Malaboch is taken prisoner
In April 1894, Chief Malaboch (Mmaleboho, Mmaleboxo) of the Bahananwa (Xananwa) people refused to leave his traditional mountain kingdom of Blouberg as ordered…
EventSir John Robinson forms Natal’s first ministry as Prime Minister
On 10 October 1893, Natal's first ministry was formed, with Sir John Robinson as Prime Minister, Minister of Education, and Colonial Secretary. Robinson, who…
EventPresident Paul Kruger lays the foundation stone of the Raadsaal on Pretoria’s Church Square
Church Square, which was initially called Market Square, was home to the first church built in Pretoria, which burnt down in 1882. The square's current layout…
PlaceBethulie Bridge across the Gariep River
Gariep Dam is located in South Africa, near the Town of Norvalspont, bordering the Free State and Eastern Cape Provinces. The stone Bridge spanning the Gariep…