SAHO global search
17,861 records
EventVasco da Gama’s expedition reaches St Helena Bay
The Portuguese expedition set off from the Tagus River on 8 July 1497 with a crew of 148 men in a squadron of three square-riggers, the Sao Gabriel, the Sao…
EventBreyten Breytenbach; SA poet, activist and painter, receives the Hertzog Prize for his poetry
Breyten Breytenbach, South African poet, painter and activist, received the Hertzog Prize for his two Afrikaans poetry volumes, an elegy 'Oorblyfsels: 'n…
EventDiscovery of the wreck of passenger liner SS Waratah
On 26 July 1909, the SS Waratah, with 211 passengers and crew departed from Durban bound for Cape Town, and disappeared without a trace. For 90 years the fate…
EventNelson Mandela celebrates his 90th birthday.
Nelson Mandela's name resonates with the struggle for independence and social, economic, political and institutional rights of Black people. The commemoration…
EventBill Flynn, popular SA actor dies in Johannesburg
On 11 July 2007, South African actor Bill Flynn, 58, passed away, allegedly due to a heart attack. Flynn was born on 13 December 1948, and was educated at…
EventBob Woolmer, former South African coach, is found unconscious in his hotel room during the Cricket World Cup in the West Indies
On 18 March 2007, Bob Woolmer (58), the Pakistani cricket coach and former South African coach, was found unconscious in his hotel room during the Cricket…
EventSouth African writer J.M. Coetzee is born in Cape Town.
Born John Maxwell Coetzee in Cape Town to Afrikaner parents, Coetzee uses his initials as his pen name. He studied at the University of Cape Town and graduated…
EventNaledi High School is founded
Naledi High School, the site where historic anti-Bantu Education student uprisings were first felt, commemorated 50th anniversary on 8 June 2013. On 8 June…
EventMolly Blackburn, political activist and civil rights campaigner is killed in a car accident
Molly Blackburn was a political activist who joined the Black Sash in 1955. She later left black Sash when she felt that the group was not very active. She…
EventConstruction of the Victoria Falls Bridge and the railway line are completed
The Victoria Falls Bridge was constructed in 1905 at the height of British penetration of Northern and Southern Rhodesia. The brainchild of Cecil Rhodes, the…
EventJacobus Johannes (Jim) Fouché is born in Wepener in the OFS.
On the 6 June 1898 1989, Jacobus Johannes Fouche was born in the Orange Free State (OFS) of South Africa. Fouche was elected as the second Sstate President of…
PlaceNewlands Cricket Stadium
Newlands hosted its first test match in March 1889, only five years after test cricket was first played at Lords. Not even a Country at the time, South Africa…
EventAnglo-Boer War 2: Lord Methuen, British general, destroys the village of Schweizer-Reneke
Paul Sanford Methuen (b. 1845 d.1932) was the 3rd Baron Methuen and a soldier all his life. Before arriving in South Africa in 1899, he had served in the Ango…
PlaceAmanzimtoti, South Coast of Kwa-Zulu Natal
Town and Holiday Destination on the South Coast, 29 km from Durban. It was founded in 1928, proclaimed a Township in 1939 and became a Borough in 1952. In 1961…
The Mission: A Life for Freedom in South Africa by Denis Goldberg
Foreword by Dr Z. Pallo Jordan Preface Chapter 1 Break down the walls Chapter 2 Respect for all, Childhood in Cape Town, 1933 – 1949 Chapter 3…
PlaceJonkershoek
This Nature Reserve is home to the majestic Jonkershoek Mountains and parts of the Jonkershoek valley, it is a UNESCO World Heritage Site! The rugged…
PlaceFraserburg
The division of Fraserburg was originally part of the district of Worcester and was proclaimed a separate division on 12 December 1853. In about January 1890…
EventSpringboks beat New Zealand in Rugby Wold Cup final match
History was made at Ellis Park Stadium on 24 June 1995, where the South African Rugby team (famously known as the Springboks) beat New Zealand in a mouth…
EventGerard Bhengu SA artist, is born in Natal
Pioneer South African artist Gerard Bhengu was born at an outstation of Mariannhill Mission Station at Centecow, Bulwer district in Southern Natal. Bhengu's…
EventTwenty-four Africans from the Graaff-Reinet district appear in the Grahamstown Supreme Court on charges under the Sabotage Act
Twenty-four Africans from the Graaff-Reinet district appeared in the Grahamstown Supreme Court on charges under the Sabotage Act. It is alleged that they had…
EventCurnick Ndlovu, Trade Unionist, is arrested.
Curnick Ndlovu was the secretary of the South African Congress of Trade Unions (SACTU) and a member of the African National Congress (ANC). He was a leader of…
EventSA artist, Bongiwe Dhlomo, is born
Bongiwe (Bongi) Dhlomo-Mautloa, South African artist, was born in Vryheid, Natal. She grew up in Bergville, matriculated in Ladysmith and obtained a National…
EventP.W. Botha and Kenneth Kaunda in a historic meeting
President Kenneth Kaunda of Zambia met the Prime Minister, P.W. Botha, in a mobile home that had been set down in the middle of the African bush across South…
EventCruel murder of Dora Bloch
Dora Bloch, one of the elderly British hostages of hijacked Flight 139 (an Air France A-300B Airbus, hijacked from Athens on 26 June) was reported as still…
EventEgyptian and Israeli forces in fierce fights
From 6 to 26 October 1973 Israel and a coalition of Arab nations led by Egypt and Syria were involved in a bloody war in the Sinai desert and Golan Heights…
EventPiet Retief, Voortrekker leader, is born
On 12 October 1780 Voortrekker leader, Piet Retief was born at Wagenmakers Vallei, now known as Wellington. Retief grew up on the vineyard, Welvanpas, in what…
EventWorld Red Cross and Red Crescent Day
Each year Red Cross and Red Crescent Day is celebrated on 8 May. This is to commemorate those who volunteer their time in assisting these organisations in…
EventThousands are killed after terrorists crashed hijacked airliners into the World Trade Centre in New York and the Pentagon in Washington
On 11 September 2001 thousands were killed after terrorists crashed hijacked airliners into the World Trade Centre in New York and the Pentagon in Washington…
EventThe cornerstone of Cape Town City Hall is laid
Cape Towns City Hall's original foundations were laid at the turn of the 20th Century. The mayor of Cape Town, Thomas Ball, laid the corner stone of the City…
EventChief Malaboch is taken prisoner
In April 1894, Chief Malaboch (Mmaleboho, Mmaleboxo) of the Bahananwa (Xananwa) people refused to leave his traditional mountain kingdom of Blouberg as ordered…