SAHO global search

1919-2008

Noni Jabavu

Helen Nontando (Noni) Jabavu was born in 1919 in the Eastern Cape into a literary family. From the age of thirteen, she was schooled in England, and continued…

B-0008191

1910-1974

Raymond Francis (Ray) Budd

Raymond Francis (Ray) Budd was born on 9 June 1910 in Mowbray, Cape Town. He was the only child of Robert and Ada Lea Budd. His father, originally from England…

B-0007895

1865

Chief Bhambatha kaMancinza Zondi

Chief Bhambatha (sometimes spelled Bhambada) was born in Mpanza near the town of Greytown, Natal Colony. He was the son of Chief Macinga of the abakwa Zondi…

B-0007819

1942

Pamela dos Santos (nee Beira)

Pamele dos Santos (nee Beira) was born in Johannesburg on 19 June 1942 to Banny and Golda Beira. She attended Houghton Primary and Johannesburg Girls High…

B-0008018

1926

Johannes Jacobus Degenaar

Johannes Jacobus Degenaar was born on 7 March 1926 in Ladysmith. As a young man he was sent to the Cape to study at the University of Stellenbosch, where he…

B-0007981

1912-2001

Milwa Mnyaluza “George” Pemba

Mnyaluza Pemba was born on 2 April 1912 at Hill’s Kraal in Korsten, Port Elizabeth. Although art classes were not offered at the Van der Kemp Mission Primary…

B-0008875

1852-1918

Schalk Burger

General Schalk Willem Burger was born on the 6 September 1852. At the age of 21 he worked as a clerk at Lydenburg in the office of the field coronet. During…

B-0096010

1919-1976

Dr James Lowell Zwelinzima Njongwe

James Lowell Zwelinzima Njongwe was one of the most dynamic leaders of the African National Congress(ANC) after its turn to mass action in the 1950s, Njongwe…

B-0068251

Nomathamsanqa Xoliswa Ngwevela

While in exile, Ngwevela procured a Diploma in Political Science at the Pushkin International Institute in Moscow in October 1980. From September 1986 to…

B-0068250

1947-1985

Twasile Champion Galela

Twasile Champion Galela was born in Korsten, Port Elizabeth on 24 October 1947. He received his primary education at Hillskraal in Korsten. His family…

B-0068168

Molefe Pheto

Molefe Pheto grew up in Alexandra, Johannesburg. As a talented young boy who displayed many interests in the arts, he was sent to London to study music and…

B-0122658

1966-1986

Andrew Sibusiso Zondo

Andrew Sibusiso Zondo grew up in KwaMashu, Durban, Natal (now Kwazulu-Natal). He attended Ngazane Lower Primary School and went on to Phakama Higher Primary…

B-0085558

1919-2005

Ntwaesele “Fish” Keitseng

Ntwaesele "Fish" Keitseng was born in Kanye, Botswana in 1919, the son of a peasant,the oldest of six children. At the age of 23, he came to South Africa as a…

B-0008238

1949

Jeremy Patrick Cronin

Jeremy Patrick Cronin was born on 12 September 1949 in Durban, Natal (now KwaZulu-Natal). He grew up in Cape Town, the son of a naval officer who died when…

B-0007963

1940

Sindiso Mfenyana

Background and Childhood Sindiso Mfenyana is descended from the Bhele clan, which is an offshoot of the Hlubi tribe. He traces his roots back to a small town…

B-0123703

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

Jan Hendrik Steyn was born in Cape Town, Western Cape on 4 March 1928. His mother, Zerilda Steyn, was a pioneer of social welfare in South Africa, founding the…

B-0097080

1956-2020

Santu Mofokeng

Born in 1956, Mofokeng grew up in and around Soweto (Johannesburg), spending most of his childhood in Orlando East. Mofokeng’s initial experiences with…

B-0008597

1928-2013

Phyllis Naidoo

Phyllis Naidoo was born in Estcourt, Natal (now kwaZulu-Natal) on the 5 January 1928. She was the daughter of Simon David, a teacher and principal. His…

B-0008734

1872-1940

Dr Abdullah Abdurahman

Dr Abdullah Abdurahman, who was born in Wellington (Cape Town ) on 18 December 1872 and graduated as a medical doctor from the University of Glasgow in 1893.He…

B-0007765

1936-2018

Winnie Madikizela-Mandela

Early YearsNomzamo Winifred Zanyiwe Madikizela was born, the fifth of nine children, in the village of Mbongweni, Bizana, in the Transkei on 26 September 1936…

B-0008431

1938-2016

Judith Mason

Born Judith Seelander Menge on 10 October 1938 in Pretoria, Judith Mason is one of the most well known South African artists. She matriculated from the…

B-0122647

1925-1992

Yvonne Bryceland

Actress Yvonne Bryceland, née Heilbuth, was born in Cape Town on 18 November 1925. She worked as a newspaper librarian before her theatre debut in Stage Door…

B-0007894

1936-2013

Sathima Bea Benjamin

Sathima Benjamin was born into a humble family in Claremont, Cape Town in 1936. Deeply influenced by the cosmopolitan culture she grew up with in the shadows…

B-0007840

1959-2024

Tito Mboweni

Early LifeAfter completing high school, Tito Mboweni attended the University of the North in Transvaal between 1979 and 1980, where he was registered for a…

B-0008523

1929-2017

Emma Thandi Mashinini

Emma Thandi Mashinini was born in Rosettenville, Johannesburg in 1929. In the early 1930s, she and her family were forcibly removed to Orlando in Soweto;…

B-0008471

1950

Winston Churchill Masakeng Saoli

Winston Churchill Masakeng Saoli was born on 3 January 1950 in the town of Acornhoek, Eastern Transvaal, now known as Mpumalanga Province. He was the second of…

B-0008985

1928-2008

Cleopas Madoda Nsibande

Cleopas Nsibande was born into a family of seven on 25 March 1928, in Nyibe Location near Ermelo in the Mpumalanga province of South Africa. He attended…

B-0008817

1927-2011

Elsie Nair

Elsie Nair (nee Goldstone) was born in Newcastle, Natal (now kwaZulu-Natal) in 1927. After completing her primary school education, she joined her mother who…

B-0096462

1960

Penelope Jane Dunlop

Penelope Jane Dunlop (P.J. Powers) was born in Durban, KwaZulu-Natal on 16 July 1960. She chose PJ Powers as her stage name using her initials and the name…

B-0096314