SAHO global search
23,171 records
EventDesmond Tutu is elected Archbishop
The Most Rev. Desmond Mpilo Tutu was elected Bishop of Cape Town, thereby becoming Archbishop of South Africa, heading the Anglican Church of South Africa. He…
EventFirst formal school opens at the Cape
Jan van Riebeeck, commander at the Cape, wrote in his diary that a school for slaves has been started. Sick-comforter Pieter van der Stael was the first…
EventSA athlete Ernst van Dyk is hard done by at Paralympic games
Wheelchair-bound South African athlete, Ernst van Dyk, was cut off from a certain gold medal by the Mexican Saul Mendoza during the 1 500m race at the Athens…
EventFrancois Botha wins International Boxing Federation (IBF) title
South African heavyweight boxer, Francois (Frans) Botha, nickamed the "White Buffalo," secured a victory in a split decision against Germany's Axel Schulz to…
EventRebel commando leader Fourie is executed
Josef Johannes (Jopie) Fourie, farmer, soldier and rebel commando leader during the 1914 Rebellion, was executed by a firing squad after being found guilty of…
EventPrime Minister Louis Botha resigns because of conflict with Hertzog
General Louis Botha, premier of the Union of South Africa since 31 May 1910, resigned from his post following an anti-British speech by General J.B.M. Hertzog,…
EventAnnexation of the Orange Free State is announced
At the begging of May 1900, the British Army, under Field Marshal Lord Roberts, launched an attack on the Orange Free State. President M T Steyn and General C…
EventBoers defeat British in the battle of Ingogo (Anglo-Boer War 1)
During the Anglo-Boer War 1- also called Transvaal War of Independence or Anglo-Transvaal War- a Boer force of about 200 (under General Nicolaas Smit) defeated…
EventThe force of the Union of South Africa enters Windhoek, capital of South West Africa.
After the outbreak of World War I, there was immediate fighting in different parts of the world. On 11 May 1915, South African troops entered Windhoek, the…
EventSA cricketer, Herschelle Gibbs is born
Herschelle Herman Gibbs was born in Green Point, Cape Town, Western Cape. In school he played soccer and rugby, but chose cricket as his sport of choice. He is…
EventA UN report estimates the number of people who have HIV/AIDS in Africa at 50,000
A United Nations report estimates the number of people who have HIV/AIDS in Africa at 50,000. The report came five years after the Centre for Disease Control…
EventWorld No Tobacco Day is observed
World Tobacco day was declared by the World Health Organization in 1987. The day is observed by abstaining from tobacco for a period of 24 hours around the…
EventJan Carel Juta (52), father of the publishing industry in SA, dies in Chiswick, London
Jan Carel Juta was a South African business man born in Holland in 1824. He sailed to the Cape in South Africa in 1853 where he soon established the company…
EventHestrie Cloete, world champion high jumper, is born
Hestrie Cloete was born in Germiston, East of Johannesburg on 26 August 1978. She began participating in sports at an early age. Her long-time coach, Martin…
EventSA’s gold-panning team returns victorious from the World Gold Panning Championships held in Slovakia
South Africa’s gold-panning team returned with one gold and two bronze medals from the World Gold Championships in Slovakia on 24 August 2007. The team…
EventTryna du Toit, Afrikaans novelist, is born in De Aar, Karoo
Catherina Charlotte Kotzenberg was born in De Aar on 13 January 1910. She started writing books at the age of thirty and chose to write under the pseudonym,…
EventKwame Nkrumah, the first President of independent Ghana escapes 5th assassination attempt
On 2 January 1964, Kwame Nkrumah, first Ghanaian President survived fifth assassination attempt. Shortly thereafter, he declared Ghana a one party state…
ArchiveRemember June 16: victory is certain
White poster with black lettering. Image of black cross with hand raised in centre surrounded by nine small black crosses. Victory is certain in white letters…
ArchiveMinutes of the National Conference of the Black Sash held in Port Elizabeth
Minutes of the National Conference of the Black Sash held in Port Elizabeth from 14 to 17 March 1985, discussing: Minutes of previous conference, magazine,…
Says no to xenophobia, 19 April 2015
The African National Congress has emphatically denounced attacks on foreign nationals in our country. We have further called on the people of Africa to unite…
Comrade Keith Khoza`s father being buried on Saturday, 3 February 2011
The African National Congress (ANC) sends its condolences to its communications manager Keith Khoza and his family for the loss of his father – Mr Wakheni…
EventJosiah Mutabuzi Isaya Kibira is the first African to be elected president of the LWF
At the Lutheran World Federation (LWF) General Assembly held in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, Josiah Mutabuzi Isaya Kibira became the first African to be elected…
EventDr D.F. Malan unveils the statue of Paul Kruger on Church Square, Pretoria
President of the former Afrikaner Republic of the Transvaal, Paul Kruger’s bronze statue was sculpted by artist Anton Van Wouw in 1896. Wouw was commissioned…
EventDeputy Minister of Interior Affairs, P.W. Botha, introduces the Republican Referendum Bill to Parliament
On 11 March 1960, for the first time in the history of South Africa, the Republican Referendum Bill was introduced to Parliament by the Deputy Minister of…
EventThe Riotous Assemblies Act Commences
The Riotous Assemblies Act no 17 of 1956, prohibiting any outside gathering that the minister of justice saw as a threat to public peace, commenced. It…
EventKing Goodwill Zwelithini is installed
On his return from exile to St Helena, King Goodwill Zwelithini was installed as the eight monarch of the Zulu nation. He took reigns over from Prince Israel…
EventNuclear Reactor At Pelindaba Goes Critical
On this date the nuclear reactor Safari, located in Pelindaba, near Pretoria, went critical and South Africa entered the nuclear age. The US firm Allis…
EventSouth Africa is invited to rejoin Commonwealth of Nations
On 25 October 1993, South Africa was invited to rejoin the Commonwealth of Nations with effect from January 1994. The move came after prolonged promising…
EventCiskei National Security Decree No 19 promulgated
The government of Ciskei introduced the National Security Decree No 19 as an attempt to curb the pressure of the increasing calls for the end of the Ciskei…
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…