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EventUN Secretary General is killed in a plane crash
United Nations (UN) Secretary General Dag Hammarskjold was killed with twelve other people when their plane crashed at Ndola airport, Northern Rhodesia (now…
EventFormer premier of Mpumalanga, Afrikaans poet and lawyer, Mathews Phosa is born
Nakedi Mathews Phosa, former premier of Mpumalanga (1994-1999), Afrikaans poet and lawyer was born in Mbombela Township in Nelspruit. Phosa was an African…
EventThe S. A government seizes the passport of Bishop Desmond Tutu
Between 1976 and 1978 Desmond Tutu served as Bishop of the Anglican Church in Lesotho and as Secretary-General of the South African Council of Churches. On 16…
EventThe Prince Imperial of France dies in the Anglo-Zulu War of 1879
The 22-year-old Prince Imperial of France, Eugene Louis Jean Joseph Napoleon, who studied in England at the Royal Military Academy and joined the British…
EventTrial of nine BPC and SASO leaders ends
The lengthy trial of nine student leaders from the Black People's Convention (BPC) and the South African Students' Organisation (SASO) ended on this date. They…
EventSADF’s 31 Battallion is disbanded
The South African Defence Force's (SADF) 31st Battalion was disbanded at a public ceremony in the Cape Province. This Battalion was composed primarily of the…
EventANC’s economic plans
African National Congress (ANC) Deputy President Nelson Mandela stated that his party was prepared to abandon its long-held policy of nationalisation if the…
EventWinnie Mandela attacked by a group of people
Winnie Mandela, at the time wife of imprisoned African National Congress (ANC) leader Nelson Mandela, was pelted with eggs and cool drink cans while leaving…
EventBartolomeu Dias reaches present Mossel Bay
Bartolomeu Dias discovered that he had sailed past the southern-most point of Africa. A strong wind had driven him so far south of Cape Point that he did not…
EventNational Housing Department introduces new plan
National Housing Department Minister, Lindiwe Sisulu, introduced a new housing plan to the media. The plan had been endorsed by the cabinet and entailed the…
EventSouth African Aerial Transports services are inaugurated
Air services were inaugurated in South Africa with the amalgamation of a London-based company, the South African Aerial Navigation Company and the SA-based…
EventCape Colony Prime Minister opposes War
William Philip Screhreiner, prime minister in the Cape Colony at the start of Anglo-Boer War 2 (South African War), summarised the pssure his government has…
EventSA artist Helen Martins is born
Helen Elizabeth Martins, artist known for her queer sculptures at the Owl House in the Karoo village of Nieu Bethesda, was born in Nieu Bethesda in the Eastern…
EventBram Fischer born today
Abraham (Bram) Fischer, lawyer and champion against apartheid, was born in Bloemfontein, Orange Free State on 23 April 1908. This man, from staunch Afrikaans…
EventJustin Alexander (Alex) La Guma, SA novelist, short story writer and political activist, is born in Cape Town
Justin Alexander la Guma was born in District Six, Cape Town on 20 February 1925. His father, Jimmy La Guma was of Cuban descent, which made him mixed race in…
EventChief Mangosuthu Buthelezi meets President Kaizer Matanzima in Tongaat
Chief Mangosuthu Buthelezi of Kwa Zulu met President Kaizer Matanzima of Transkei in Tongaat, north of Durban, where they declared they were opposed to the…
EventDr Alexander Logie du Toit, South African geologist, is born in Cape Town
Dr Alexander Logie du Toit was a South African geologist. His work raised him to prominence and he became South Africa’s most important geologist. Du Toit…
EventThe western wing of Munitoria burns down
The Munitoria building, a municipal building in Pretoria burned down in 1997. The fire spread though the building very quickly and was already out of control…
EventAlan Charles Rusbridger, editor of The Guardian is born
Alan Charles Rusbridger is an English journalist and editor of The Guardian newspaper. He was born in Northern Rodesia (Now Zambia) to English parents. The…
EventStephen Appiah, retired Ghanaian footballer is born
Stephen Leroy Appiah is a retired Ghanaian footballer who once captained the Ghanaian national team. Appiah was born in Achimota, Accra on 24 December 1980. He…
EventChris Katongo, Zambian football player, is born
Christopher Katongo was born on 31 August 1982 in Mufulira, Zambia. After playing for a few local teams, he moved to South Africa and joined Jomo Cosmos…
EventThe Federal Congress of the National Party supports a set of constitutional reforms
The Federal Congress of the National Party (NP) supported a set of constitutional ‘reforms’ outlined by Prime Minister P.W. Botha, and explained to the…
EventUranium enrichment programme gets a boost from B.J. Vorster
South African Prime Minister, Balthazar Johannes Vorster disclosed in July 1970 in the House of Assembly that the government has decided to make funds…
EventVictor Sidney Norton, journalist and first South African-born editor of the Cape Times, dies in Cape Town
Victor Sidney Norton was born in Johannesburg to an English father and a Swedish mother. His father Sidney Peter Norton was a journalist and would influence…
EventZambian plane crashes at Libreville, Gabon killing 18 national soccer team players
A Zambian Air Force De Havilland Canada DHC-5D Buffalo carrying the Zambian national soccer team crashed in the Atlantic Ocean just 500 meters offshore from…
EventThe Security Council begins deliberations on the situation in South Africa
The United Nations Security Council began deliberations on the situation in South Africa, under an agenda item entitled: "The situation arising out of the…
EventNkomo, leader of ZAPU forms a coalition government with Robert Mugabe
Joshua Mqabuko Nyangolo Nkomo, leader of the Zimbabwe African People's Union (ZAPU) formed a coalition government with Robert Mugabe in Zimbabwe. Nkomo's party…
EventMore than 2,250 people are arrested in the township of Sebokeng
Police arrested 2,300 people in the township of Sebokeng in the Vaal in what was believed to be the biggest raid against black people living in the townships…
EventA school bus with seventy-six learners plunges into the Westdene dam, killing forty-two
In the second worst bus accident in South African history, a double decker school bus with seventy-six learners of Hoërskool Vorentoe plunged into the Westdene…
EventArchibald Lamont, ex-mayor of Durban, passes away.
Archibald Lamont was one of seven children born to Alexander Lamont, a master-mariner and businessman, and Sarah Graham. Born in Scotland, Lamont completed his…