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EventEleven people are killed in eSikhawini township
Eleven people were killed in the township of eSikhawini in northern Natal by unknown killers armed with pump action shotguns. The massacre took place a few…
EventUnited Front launch in jeopardy
The proposed launch of the United Front was threatened when the Azanian People's Organisation (AZAPO) denounced fourteen of the more than seventy-five…
EventNic Cruse, who worked for PC Plus, which was started by people within the Mass Democratic Movement is assassinated.
On 2 October 1990 Nic Cruse, an employee at PC Plus, opened a parcel containing a bomb in a computer. The subsequent explosion killed Cruse, aged 23. Cruse had…
EventFive prominent anti-apartheid activists released
Five prominent anti-apartheid activists were released in Cape Town after being detained for up to two years under the Internal Security Act. The five are…
EventArchbishop Desmond Tutu is arrested
Archbishop Desmond Tutu, a central figure in the fight against apartheid, was arrested outside parliament while leading a protest march (one of many) against…
EventThe Congress of Traditional Leaders of South Africa (Contralesa) is launched
The Congress of Traditional Leaders of South Africa (Contralesa) is launched to articulate the interests of Traditional Leaders and act as an extra…
EventZola Budd breaks a world record
In a low key event in Crystal Palace, England, South African born athlete Zola Budd broke the 5 000 metres world record set by Ingrid Kristiansens of Norway by…
EventAnnouncement of Hezekiel Sepeng’s 2 years suspension
Athletics South Africa (ASA) announced that South Africa's former Olympic 800m silver medallist Hezekiel Sepeng was banned on 11 May 2005 from all competition…
EventPharmaceutical companies drop a lawsuit against South Africa ending an international battle over patent rights and profit
In 1998 the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America and thirty nine international pharmaceutical companies brought a lawsuit against the South…
EventTobacco Products Control Ammendmant Bill passed
The National Assembly votes by 213 to 106 to pass the Tobacco Products Control Amendment Bill, which bans all forms of tobacco advertising and prohibits…
EventPaul Adams becomes SA’s youngest Test Cricket player
South African cricket player, Paul "Gogga" Adams, became South Africa's youngest Test Cricket player, when he featured in his first test debut at the age of 18…
EventCellist and music teacher Betty Pack is born
Cellist and music teacher Betty Pack, who started several youth orchestras, was born in Nylstroom, Transvaal. At the age of 16, she gave her first public…
EventSouth Africa observes Armistice Day
Armistice Day is observed annually in South Africa to commemorate the sacrifice of veterans and civilians in World War I. The day is observed world-wide,…
EventLeague of Nations is formed
The League of Nations was established after World War I, during the Treaty of Versailles. The intention of this organization was to reduce armament and to…
EventHerero people defeat German Forces
German forces under Major Von Glasenapp are defeated by Herero people near Okaharui, German West Africa (now Namibia). Herero men in the Okaharui ambushed…
EventActress and teacher Wilhelmina Freund is born
Wilhelmina Louisa Ida (Minna) Freund, actress and teacher of elocution, was born in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany, when her parents, who were South African…
EventThe Stellenbosch Gymnasium is founded
The Stellenbosch Gymnasium, forerunner of the University of Stellenbosch, was opened with ceremony in a large house in Dorp Street. This was achieved on…
EventNatal becomes part of the Union of South Africa
In 1844 Natal, annexed by Britain on 12 May 1843, became a district of the Cape Colony under a lieutenant-governor. It was proclaimed a British colony on 4 May…
EventOmar Bongo, former president of Gabon is born
Born Alhaji Omar Bongo Ondimba, he was president of Gabon for 41 years, making him one of the longest serving non-monarch rulers in the world. In 1990, under…
EventThree South African provinces are renamed
After the first South African democratic election, the country was demarcated into nine provinces. Some of these provinces were given geographical names, like…
EventFormer National Minister of Arts and Culture, Pallo Jordan, is born
Zweledinga Pallo Jordan, who became the National Minister of Arts and Culture under President Thabo Mbeki’s administration, was born in B Location, Kroonstad,…
EventKing Mswati III is born
Makhosetive Dlamini (King Mswati III) was born in Masundini Swaziland to King Sobhuza III and one of his younger wives Ntombi Tfwala. Mswati was Tfwala’s…
EventChief Albert Luthuli is banned for a further five years
Chief Albert Luthuli, President General of the African National Congress (ANC), led the Defiance Campaign in 1952, a non- violent protest against the pass laws…
EventNaguib Mahfouz, Egyptian writer and Nobel laureate, is born
Naguib Mahfouz was born in Cairo, Egypt. He knew from a very young age that he wanted to be a writer. He began writing at the age of eleven and at 17 he…
EventMuntu Myeza, SA anti-apartheid activist, is born.
Muntu Myeza was Secretary General of the Azanian People’s Organisation (AZAPO), an affiliate of the Black Consciousness Movement. At the age of 22 , he joined…
PlaceCottam Grove Hotel, 303-309 Florida Road, Durban.
These two impressive verandah houses were erected in about 1903 on the instruction of mining magnate Sir Abe Bailey. After WWII the properties were joined and…
PlaceZorgvliet, Sir George Grey Street, Oranjezicht
The property was granted to Matthys Coeymans in 1669 and its homestead was subsequently erected in a Cape Dutch style. During the 19th century a number of…
ArchiveFrank Talk
Frank Talk, first published in March 1984, as the official publication of the Natal Region of AZAPO, the Azanian Peoples Organisation, was later published by…
EventPass laws are suspended in South Africa
The South African Commissioner of Police announced that the pass laws, applicable to the African population, were suspended until normality had been restored,…
ANC Secretary General meeting former political prisoners on the Cuban Five, 21 May 2010
In a move aimed at strengthening the campaign for the release of five Cubans - who include trade unionists - incarcerated in Miami, United States, in 1998,…