SAHO global search

1841-1898

Nongqawuse

History is not kind to Nongqawuse. What we know of her is mainly related to the Cattle-Killing/Millenarian Movement of 1856-7 and her role and relations…

B-0008814

1961

Dali Tambo

Dali Tambo is the son of the late former ANC President Oliver Tambo and his wife Adelaide Tambo, He has two sisters, Nomathemba and Tselane Tambo. When…

B-0122793

1874-1939

Charlotte Maxeke

Where was Charlotte Maxeke born? Many sources cite Charlotte Maxeke’s (née Mannya) birth place as Fort Beaufort the Eastern Cape, however, there are other…

B-0008503

1954-2008

John Matshikiza

John Matshikiza was born in Sophiatown, Johannesburg in 1954. Sophiatown was soon after demolished to make way for the White suburb of Triomf (Triumph)…

B-0008496

1953-1989

Anton Theodor August Wilfried Lubowski

Anton Theodor August Wilfried Lubowski was born on 3 February 1953, in South West Africa (now known as Namibia), the second child of Wilfried Franz and Molly…

B-0008339

1643-1674

Krotoa (Eva)

Krotoa (known as Eva to the Dutch and English settlers) was the niece of Autshumao, a Khoi leader and interpreter to the Dutch (he was known as Harry/Herry…

B-0008280

1956

Bongiwe (Bongi) Dhlomo-Mautloa

Bongiwe Dhlomo was born on 25 June 1956 in Vryheid, KwaZulu-Natal, and grew up in nearby Bergville. Dhlomo matriculated in 1974 from St Chad's School in…

B-0008000

1800

Bishop Samuel Adjai Crowther

Born about 1800, in Zomba, Central Africa. From his youth the boy showed the signs of greatness and it was clear that he had a future. The country frequently…

B-0007965

1941-2010

Hotep Idris Galeta

‘Cecil Galeta’ was born on 7 June 1941 and grew up in Cape Town, South Africa.  However, he was more commonly known as Cecil Barnard; Barnard was his father's…

B-0068433

1960-1983

Nokuthula Orela Simelane

Nokuthula Orela Simelane was born in 1960 in Mzinoni Township near Bethal in Mpumalanga. She was the first of two daughters (Nokuthula and Thembisile) of…

B-0093135

1950-1977

Dr Hoosen Mia Haffejee

Hoosen Mia Haffejee was born on 6 November 1950. Haffejee grew up in Pietermaritzburg and completed his primary schooling at St. Paul’s School and Marion…

B-0074800

1944-1989

David Joseph Webster

David Webster was born in 1944, and grew up in the copper belt mines of Northern Rhodesia where his father was a miner. His family later immigrated to South…

B-0009218

1929-2001

Johannes (Joe) Modise

Johannes Modise, or Joe, as he is known to family, friends and comrades, was born in Doornfontein, Johannesburg, on 23 May 1929. He was the only child of…

B-0067967

1916-1988

John Taolo Gaetsewe

John Taolo Gaetsewe was born in 1916 at Maruping village in Ga-Segonyana, Northern Cape.His father was a migrant mineworker. He left a mission-run secondary…

B-0095598

1946-2011

John James Issel

John James Issel was born on 17 August 1946 in the wine-growing area of Worcester outside Cape Town. At a tender age, he worked on a vineyard, cleaning grapes…

B-0064876

1941

Barbara Mosima Joyce Masekela

Barbara Mosima Joyce Masekela was born on 18 July 1941 in Johannesburg. She was the second of four children born to Pauline and Thomas Selema Masekela. Her…

B-0008460

1963

Roger Meintjes

Roger Meintjes was born in Cape Town, Western Province (now Western Cape) in 1963. Meintjes was very interested in photography and bought a second-hand…

B-0093854

1918-1990

Frank Alexander Landman

Raised in the close knit community of Dowerville, Port Elizabeth (P.E.), Frank was the youngest of three sons and the third of the six surviving children of a…

B-0122626

1913-1996

George Gangen Ponnen

Gangen George Ponnen was born on 1 June 1913 in the district of Rooikopjes near Durban, in the then Natal (now KwaZulu-Natal). His father Ponnen, born in…

B-0068316

Madi Gray

Madi Gray was born in Cape Town, where she grew up, attended school and went to university.  Her parents were immigrants from Germany, who came to South Africa…

B-0068704

1931-2015

Reggie Vandeyar

Reggie Vandeyar was born into a poor family on 15 July 1931 in Newclare. His father was originally from India, who had come to South Africa to seek fortune. …

B-0068000

1893-1962

Dr Alfred Bitini Xuma

Alfred Bitini Xuma was born on 8 March 1893, in Manzana, Ngcobo District, in the Eastern Province (now Eastern Cape). Xuma was the seventh child of Abraham…

B-0009245

1947

Dr Gurunathen (Guru) Kistnasamy

Guru Kistnasamy was born on 28 December 1947 in Felixton, Zululand, Natal (now KwaZulu-Natal). His father, Thaniachallam Kistnasamy Naicker, worked as a…

B-0123670

1851-1919

Francis Zaccharius Santiago Peregrino

Francis Zaccharius Santiago Peregrino was a journalist and public intellectual who, in the early 1900s, challenged notions of Black racial inferiority in the…

B-0122673

1942

Zweledinga Pallo Jordan

Pallo Zweledinga Jordan was born on 22 May 1942 in B Location, Kroonstad, in the Orange Free State. His father, Dr Archibald Campbell Jordan, was an African…

B-0008215

1935-2012

Abdul ‘Apamai’ Rahman Dawood

Abdul Rahman Dawood or 'Apmai' as he was affectionately known was born in India to a family of progressive community activists in October 1935. He was brought…

B-0071944

1982

Mary Sibande

This biography was written by Artthrob in collaboration with SAHO. MODUS OPERANDI Mary Sibande - a sculptor, photographer, and visual artist based in…

B-0121589

1921-1968

Todd Tozama Matshikiza

Todd Tozama Matshikiza was the son of Samuel Bokwe Matshikiza and Grace Ngqoyi Matshikiza. They were a family of renowned musicians; his mother was a noted…

B-0008495

1944

Subbiah Moodley

Subbiah Moodley is probably the most anonymous of the early uMkhonto weSizwe (MK), the military wing of the African National Congress (ANC), recruits. He…

B-0124725

1909-1983

Dr Yusuf Mohamed Dadoo

Dr Yusuf Mohamed Dadoo played an outstanding role in the South African liberation movement for over half a century - in persuading the Indian community to link…

B-0007970