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EventHendrik Verwoerd becomes Prime Minister
Hendrik Frensch Verwoerd assumed office as the Prime Minister of South Africa after the death of J.G. Strijdom. An ardent advocate of Apartheid, Verwoerd…
EventOver 400 Kikuyu suspected to be part of the Mau Mau movement are arrested in Kenya
Mali was once part of the Great Songhay Empire, but came under French rule in 1892. After almost seventy years of colonial rule, Mali was renamed the Sudanese…
EventSeretse Khama is re-united with his British wife
Seretse Khama succeeded his father, Kgosi (King) Khama III known as Khama the Good, ruler of the Bangwanto people. Subsequent to his father’s death Khama was…
Known as Black Tuesday’, the New York Stock exchange collapsed sending economic shockwaves throughout the world and throwing the global economy into depression
Tuesday, 29th October 1929, saw the world's economy go into recession as the New York Stock Exchange collapsed and saw shocked investors withdraw their…
EventWiehahn Commission Report tabled in parliament
On 1 May 1979, the first interim report of the Wiehahn Commission is tabled in Parliament. The Wiehahn Commission was set up by the government after the Durban…
EventMK hero cadre Solomon Kalushi (Khala) Mahlangu is executed
Solomon Kalushi (Khala) Mahlangu was executed by the Apartheid regime for being part of an abortive attempt by African National Congress (ANC) members to…
EventUS Secretary of State Cyrus Vance travels to South Africa to promote transition to black rule in Namibia
South Africa had seized the German territory (then known as South-West Africa) during World War I and retained it after the war under a League of Nations…
EventFree, compulsory education for Black children
The government announces that its aim, is to provide all Black children with free and compulsory education as soon as possible. Teachers and scholars rejected…
EventIngrid Jonker, SA poet, commits suicide.
On 19 July 1965, Ingrid Jonker, a South African poet, committed suicide by walking into the sea. Jonker was 31 Years old. The advanced ideas inherent in Ingrid…
EventTurkish newspapers criticise of ANC leader Nelson Mandela for refusing to accept Turkey’s peace award
On 14 May 1992, Nelson Mandela, leader of the African National Congress, was subjected to harsh criticism and utterances verging on libel, due to the position…
EventSACP is legally re-launched
On 29 July 1990 the South African Communist Party(SACP), which had been unbanned in February 1990, was formally re-launched as a legal organisation at a mass…
EventJulius Nyerere chairman of the Chama Cha Mapinduzi (CCM) addresses the ANC in Arusha
Julius Nyerere president of the Chama Cha Mapinduzi (CCM), a party that succeeded the TANU, addressed delegates attending the African National Congress (ANC)…
EventUS House of Representatives approve Bill to impose stricter sanctions on Apartheid South Africa
On 18 June 1986, the House of Representatives of the United States of America approved a Bill that would impose stricter sanctions against South Africa. This…
Event18 mineworkers die in Carletonville
On 29 July 1999, a team of AngloGold mineworkers at the Mponeng mine in Carletonville accidentally drilled into a pocket of flammable methane gas in the…
EventThe Dutch Reformed Church decides that Afrikaans may be used alongside Dutch during services
The Afrikaans language has its origins in Dutch. It developed amongst Dutch-speaking settlers and slaves in South Africa in the 17th century, and has many…
EventFormation of the South African Native National Congress
The South African Native National Congress (SANNC), later known as the Africa National Congress (ANC) was founded on the 8 January 1912. At SANNC's inaugural…
EventGeneral Louis Botha wins elections
On 15 September 1910, General Louis Botha and Hertzog's South African Party (SAP) won the majority number of seats in the House Assembly forming the first…
EventBambatha Rebellion
The Bambatha Rebellion took place near Greytown in KwaZulu-Natal. The first signs of discontent started at the end of 1905, when government introduced a new £1…
EventPolitical activist, Professor ZK Matthews is born
Zachariah Keodirelang Matthews, was born in Kimberley in 1901, the son of Peter Motsielwa and Martha Mooketsi Matthews, a Tswana mineworker who later opened a…
EventGeneral De la Rey protests British mistreatment of women and children
The Anglo-Boer War broke out in 1899 and was the result of the British annexation of the Transvaal, soon after gold had been discovered in the region in 1886…
EventBattle of Vaalkrans begins
Among the reasons for the South African War (Anglo- Boer War), 1899 - 1902, was that the Afrikaners attempted to assert their independence as a nation in the…
EventThe British successfully thwart the Zulu attack at Rorke’s Drift
During the Anglo-Zulu war Lord Chelmsford, commander of the British forces, took over the buildings of the Swedish Mission at Rorke's Drift, near Isandlwana…
EventBotswana President, Seretse Khama dies
Bechuanaland (now Botswana) President, Seretse Khama died on 13 July 1980 he died in Gabarone, Botswana. He was born on 1 July 1921 at Serowe, Botswana. His…
Chapter Six - The Fighter in Turmoil: 1946 - 1960
From the book: Johnny Gomas Voice of the working class: A political Biography by Doreen Musson The years between 1930 and the 1940s were ones of profound…
PlaceVoortrekker Monument
The Voortrekker Monument is located just South of Pretoria, in South Africa. This massive granite Structure is prominently located on a Hilltop, and was Built…
82. The President’s Council
From the book: A Documentary History of Indian South Africans edited by Surendra Bhana and Bridglal Pachai The President's Council was appointed in…
ArticleThe Crackdown on the Black Consciousness Movement in 1973
The period after the Sharpeville Massacre and the banning of the African National Congress (ANC) and the Pan African Congress (PAC), especially after the…
EventFormer National Soccer League CEO Cyril Kobus dies
Former National Professional Soccer League (NPSL) and the National Soccer League general manager Cyril Kobus dies at the age 79. Mr Kobus was credited as one…
EventJazz Musician, Basil 'Manenberg' Coetzee, dies
Basil 'Manenberg' Coetzee (54), South African jazz musician who played with Abdullah Ibrahim (also known as Dollar Brand) died during the night of 11 March…
Tribute to Prof Meer on her 80th birthday by Ari Sitas, 23 August 2008
South African History Online Tribute to Prof Meer on her 80th birthday by Ari Sitas 23 August 2008 Fatima Meer's career at Natal University spanned…