20 April 1979

Today in History

20 April 1979

The aim of The Federation of South African Trade Unions (FOSATU) was to be a national umbrella organisation that could coordinate the movements of Black trade unions. The Federation came into being after the South African Congress of Trade Unions (SACTU) and Federation of Free African Trade Unions (FFATU) disintegrated in the 1960s. The organisation had twelve partners, and represented 45 000 workers.

The organisation aimed to ensure that its partners were democratic, and that leaders were elected from the working class. This approach encouraged the development of a properly organised, democratic trade union movement in South Africa.

FOSATU resisted affiliation with political parties, unlike SACTU, who joined forces with the African National Congress (ANC), and FFATU, who aligned themselves with the Pan-Africanist Congress (PAC). This affiliation has been construed as a deliberate attempt to ignore political and community issues, and has resulted in FOSATU being described as concerned with only "bread and butter" issues.

- sahistory.org.za

SABC presenter Vuyo Mbuli has passed away

78,000 apply for one-way mission to Mars

Ally behind Juju sale

Underground xenophobic attacks rife

Broadacres Shopping Centre on fire

Dying Vuyo called son

Other Today in History

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25 September 2004

Former anti-apartheid activist, Allan Boesak accuses ANC

25 September 1977

Steve Biko, Black Consciousness Movement Leader, is buried

25 September 1974

'Viva Frelimo' rallies, organised by the BPC and SASO, take place even though they were banned by Government

24 September 1995

First celebration of National Heritage Day

24 September 1990

Winnie Mandela charged with kidnapping

24 September 1987

The Congress of Traditional Leaders of South Africa (Contralesa) is launched

23 September, 1985

Murder trial of "Sharpeville Six" opens

23 September, 1913

Women protest against passes in the Free State

23 September, 1992

Goldstone Commission investigate the Bisho Massacre

22 September, 2008

Parliament convenes to consider the resignation of President Thabo Mbeki

22 September, 1995

Local government elections thrown in disarray

22 September, 2004

Teboho Mokgalagadi wins gold in the Paralympic Games

21 September 2004

SA athlete Ernst van Dyk is hard done by at Paralympic games

21 September 1992

Mandela and de Klerk agree to restart talks

21 September 1988

COSATU conference prohibited and organisers restricted.

20 September 1990

ANC and IFP to meet over violence

20 September 1989

F.W. De Klerk is inaugurated

20 September 1978

South African Prime Minister, John Vorster resigns

19 September 1985

Supreme Court changes ruling on forced removals, traditionally

19 September 1983

Dr Yusuf Dadoo, socialist movement activist and politician, dies in exile

19 September 1980

Mafeking (Mafikeng) is surrendered to Bophuthatswana

18 September 1999

South Africa win the most medals at the 7th All African Games

18 September 1992

Mass funeral for the victims of Bisho massacre

18 September 1980

National Party refuses to serve on Buthelezi Commission of Inquiry

17 September 1999

Mbeki receives an Honorary Doctorate

17 September 1987

Religious leaders hold talks with the ANC

17 September 1983

Methane gas explosion kills 68 mine workers

16 September, 2004

President Mbeki opens the second sitting of PAP

16 September, 1985

Frontline states call on RSA government to release Mandela and end Apartheid

16 September, 1985

Mine disaster kills 177

15 September 2000

The 2000 Summer Olympic Games or Millennium Games, hosted by Australia, were officially opened in the capital Sydney. Australia won the right to host the games in 1993 when it was selected over Beijing, Berlin, Istanbul and Manchester.

15 September 1901

Mbanga James George Benjamin Molefe, clergyman and headmaster, was born in Mbulwana, Ladysmith, Natal. Molefe was one of the first black Presbyterian ministers to graduate at Fort Hare College in 1932.

15 September 1835

Darwin's experience in the Galapagos would be the principle inspiration for his work, On The Origin of Species, one of those rare scientific works that fundamentally changed the people think about the world in which they live.

14 September 2004

Fraud and Corruption on the rise in SA

14 September 1991

Major political organisations sign the National Peace Accord calling for the laying down of arms to create an environment conducive for negotiations

14 September 1918

Spanish Flue strikes South Africa, causing the death of 140 000

13 September 1997

Mother Teresa is buried

13 September 1990

Migrant workers ransack Phola Park

13 September 1979

The SA government grants 'Independent' status to Venda

12 September 2004

Ray Simons dies

12 September 1988

Presidents of Mozambique and South Africa meet

12 September 1977

Steve Biko dies in detention

11 September 1990

Political prisoners are released

11 September 1906

Indian campaigner, Mohandas Gandhi leads Satyagraha Passive Resistance Campaign

11 September 1902

Workers embark on strike action

10 September 1921

Newspaper editor John Tengo Jabavu dies

10 September 1960

Bishop Ambrose Reeves returns to South Africa

10 September 1938

Springboks lose to the Lions

9 September, 1997

F.W. de Klerk delivers his farewell address to Parliament

9 September, 1994

Protest by former liberation fighters

9 September, 1985

American President Ronald Reagan agrees to limited sanctions on SA

8 September, 1990

Mandela threatens armed struggle

8 September, 1998

Mpush Makambi wins IBO champion title

September, 1986

Diplomatic office of the ANC in Stockholm is bombed

6 September 1945

Bhekisani Manyoni, artist, is born in Greytown

6 September 1939

SA joins World War II

6 September 2000

United Nations World Summit starts

5 September 1909

Yusuf Dadoo, political activist, is born

5 September 1969

Vorster appoints a Commission of Inquiry

5 September 1911

Sir Abe Bailey, Rand mine magnate and politician, marries Mary Westenra, pioneer aviatrix

4 September 1994

Bafana Bafana beats Madagascar

4 September1991

ANC rejects National Party proposal for a new constitution

4 August 1996

Josiah Thugwane wins gold at Olympics

3 September 1984

Tricameral Parliament inaugurated

3 September 1958

Verwoerd becomes Prime Minister and NP leader

3 September 1919

Smuts becomes Prime Minister

2 September, 2001

Heart specialist Dr. Chris Barnard dies

2 September, 1958

Hendrik Verwoerd becomes Prime Minister

2 September, 1879

Britain concludes peace with the Zulu nation

1 September, 2004

Independent Democrats benefits from floorcrossing rule

1 September, 2004

SASOL explodes again

1 September, 1969

Col. Muammar Gaddafi seizes power in Libya

31 August 1979

Prime Minister Botha visits Soweto

31 August 2001

World Conference on Racism starts in Durban

31 August 1990

Soweto agrees to pay rent

30 August 2002

First Fietas Festival to celebrate the legacy of the community

30 August 1988

SA troops withdraw from Angola

30 August 1971

Maluzi Gigaba is born

29 August 2004

Olympic games end in Athens

29 August 1994

South Africa signs SADC treaty

29 August 1988

Students at Durban

28 August 1923

Gifted writer and actor William Modisane is born

28 August 1996

Black empowerment makes headway

28 August 1987

RSA introduces more press restriction

26 August, 1985

Zola Budd breaks a world record

26 August, 1990

Ramaphosa and Motlatsi are arrested

26 August, 1960

State of emergency declared after Sharpeville Massacre is lifted

25 August, 1964

Kenneth David Kaunda wins Zambian elections

25 August, 1980

Zimbabwe becomes a member of the United Nations (UN)

25 August, 1971

Chief Mangosuthu Buthelezi calls for National Convention

24 August 1998

The trial of Dr Allan Boesak on charges of theft and fraud starts

24 August 1990

State of emergency declared in 27 townships

24 August 1960

SA Police Commissioner, Lt. Gen. H.J. du Plooy to take drastic actions against police who call Africans “Kaffir”

24 August 1958

Former South African Prime Minister Strijdom dies

23 August 1993

The Motsuenyane Commission finds the African National Congress (ANC) guilty of torture in its camps

23 August 1992

Verwoerd's grandson joins ANC

23 August 1987

Student Activist Caiphus Nyoka is killed

23 August 1933

Mahatma Gandhi is released from Indian jail

22 August 1996

ANC makes submission to the TRC

22 August 1978

Former Kenyan President, Jomo Kenyatta, dies

22 August 1894

Natal Indian Congress is formed

21 August 1998

Guilty verdict against PW Botha

21 August 1982

Swazi King Sobhuza II dies

21 August 1961

Kenyan political activist Jomo Kenyatta released from jail

20 August 1994

Vuyani Bungu wins IBF World Boxing Title

20 August 1991

The United Democratic Front (UDF) was formed in August 1983, and was one of the most prominent anti-apartheid movements, comprising of over 400 workers', church, civic and student organisations.

20 August 1892

The Transvaal National Union is established

19 August, 1985

Archbishop Tutu snubs P. W. Botha

19 August, 1998

TRC releases documents revealing plot to kill UN Secretary

19 August, 1970

The Chinese Community in South Africa is granted 'White' status

18 August, 1988

P. W. Botha refutes possibility of Black majority rule

18 August, 1977

Stephen Bantu Biko is arrested

18 August, 1964

South Africa is banned from the Olympic Games

17 August 1996

Ruth Perry is elected to lead Liberia and becomes Africa's first woman head of state

17 August 1992

SADC treaty is signed in Namibia

17 August 1887

Marcus Garvey's name is synonymous with Pan-Africanism and the Rastafari Movement. He was born in Jamaica on 17 August 1887, and as a young man developed a love for reading. At the age of 14, Garvey went left for Kingston to work in a printing house, where some years later he was elected vice president of the Kingston Union.

17 August 1887

16 August 1924

The first radio licence in SA is issued to Dr J. van Rensburg of Carnarvon

16 August 1990

Mandela and De Klerk hold emergency talks

16 August 1997

The South African soccer team, Bafana Bafana registered a momentous victory against the national team of the Democratic Republic of the Congo

14 August 1998

Winnie Mandela sued by the government

14 August 1968

Students support the appointment of Archie Mafejeg

14 August 1882

Cetshwayo, travels to London to request that he should be restored as a king of the Zulu Kingdom

13 August 1927

Fidel Castro, president of Cuba from 1976 to 2008, is born

13 August 1970

ANC revolutionary propaganda leaflets exploded in Cape Town, Johannesburg and Durban.

13 August 1976

SA pledges support for a negotiated settlement in Rhodesia

12 August, 1998

Pres Mandela's testimony in SARFU affairs set aside

12 August, 1952

Walter Sisulu arrested under the Suppression of Communism Act.

12 August, 1990

Allan Boesak resigns from the church

11 August, 1982

SADF raid Southern Angola

11 August, 1950

3 students from Johannesburg are the first to climb 'Devil's Tooth'

11 August, 1963

ANC activists bribe warder and escape from prison

10 August 1949

Gill Marcus, former Deputy Minister of Finance from 1996-1999, Manager of Spoornet and current Governor of the South African Reserve Bank, was born in Johannesburg.

10 August 1985

Dr. Allan Boesak was arrested and appeared in court on charges of trying to enter a Black township without permit, but charges were subsequently dropped.

10 August 1965

Karen Muir became the youngest official world record-holder in swimming history when she recorded 1min 8.7sec for the 110 yards backstroke at the Derby Baths, Blackpool, England.

9 August 2000

Mbeki unveils Women's Monument at Union Buildings

9 August 1987

The National Union of Mineworkers start South Africa's longest wage strike

9 August 1956

20 000 women march to the Union Buildings in protest of Pass Laws

8 August 2004

Four men were killed instantly when a car swerved to avoid a second, which was spinning on the Odi race track, and ploughed into spectators watching from the sidelines.

8 August 1990

The Rand Supreme Court sentences Jerry Richardson to death for the murder 14-year-old Stompie Seipei.

8 August 1960

69 Africans were killed when South African police opened fire on demonstrators

7 August 1947

Mosibudi Mangena, the National Minister of Science and Technology and President of the opposition party Azanian People's Organisation (AZAPO) was born in Tzaneen, Limpopo Province.

7 August 1988

Angola, Cuba and South Africa allegedly signed a cease fire treaty

7 August 2004

The NNP joins the ANC

6 August 1990

Adelaide Tambo became politically active after her grandfather's arrest at the age of ten. While she attended high school, she started to work as a courier for the African National Congress (ANC).

6 August 1983

A limpet mine exploded outside the Temple of Israel synagogue in central Johannesburg, the mother 'shul' of the Johannesburg Jewish Reform Congregation.

6 August 1960

The United Nations (UN) Secretary General, Mr Dag Hammarskjöld, asked the UN Security Council to lay down rules which would allow UN forces to enter Katanga without interfering with Congo’s internal affairs

4 August, 1996

Josiah Thugwane wins gold at Olympics

4 August, 1914

Work is stopped at the Kimberley mine

4 August, 1967

Military conscription for all white males in South Africa is enforced

3 August 1956

In 1821, the British Government took control of the British trading forts. In 1844, Fanti chiefs on the Gold Coast (as Ghana was then known) signed an agreement with the British that led to the colonial status for the coastal area.

3 August 1956

Ghana demands independence from Britain

3 August 1986

In protest of the system of apartheid, economic sanctions against South Africa had been advocated from the 1960s onwards.

2 August 1976

The University of the Western Cape had been a important site of student protest throughout the 1970s.

2 August 1989

Mass Democratic Movement (MDM) begins their Defiance Campaign.

2 August 1926

Former Colonial Prime Minister John Merriman dies

1 August 1936

The Berlin Games are infamously known as Hitler's Olympics after he used the event for propaganda to promote his National Socialist German Workers' Party (Nazi) and white supremacist ideology.

1 August 1936

The SABC is officially launched

1 August 1834

The struggle for the emancipation of slaves throughout the British Empire was known as the abolitionist movement.

31 July 1894

Chief Malaboch of the Bahananwa people refused to leave his traditional mountain kingdom of Blouberg as ordered by the Transvaal Republic (ZAR) Government

31 July 1879

The first cable connection between SA and Europe, via Aden, was launched.

31 July 2004

Don Mattera, widely known as Bra Zinga, announced that he was withdrawing from public performances.

30 July 1988

Mary-Anne D'Oliveira Netto Serrano (21) was killed in a bomb explosion in the Wimpy Bar at the Benoni Plaza, Benoni on the East-Rand.

30 July 1987

On 30 July 1987, a car bomb was detonated outside the headquarters of Witwatersrand Command army base in Quartz Street, Johannesburg

30 July 1976

Emil Solomon "Solly" Sachs was born in Lithuania, and immigrated to South Africa with his family in 1914.

29 July, 1945

Xhosa author Samuel Mqhayi dies

29 July, 1988

Winnie Mandela's Soweto home reported burnt down

29 July, 1979

The apartheid government reportedly pays compensation for death of Steve Biko

28 July 2005

The suspected mastermind of the bomb attacks in London on July 7 hid in South Africa for several weeks before being arrested in Zambia

28 July 2004

Simon Mann pleads guilty in a Zimbabwean Court to attempting to purchase dangerous weapons

28 July 1998

The four murderers of Amy Biehl, American Fullbright exchange student, are granted amnesty by the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC).

27 July 1999

The Natal Law Society has apologised posthumously to passive resistance icon, Mahatma Karamchand Gandhi, 105 years after a racist decision barred the young lawyer from practising.

27 July 1996

The 1996 Atlanta Olympics marked the 100 year celebration of the Olympic Games. The event, unofficially known as the Centennial Olympics, was marred by a terrorist bomb explosion.

27 July 1953

The undeclared Korean War ended after three years of fighting between North Korean and Chinese Communists against the United Nations (UN) forces (mainly South Korean and American).

26 July 2004

Born in the predominantly Indian community of Cato Manor near Durban

26 July 1996

Bantu Holomisa was dismissed as Deputy Environment and Tourism Minister after revealing that the African National Congress

26 July 1977

The 'Committee of 10' formed by prominent Soweto residents, issued a programme for the election of a new community board to have total autonomy in Soweto, including powers to levy taxes and to control education, the police and local elections.

25 July 1992

Summer Olympics opened in Barcelona, Spain.

25 July 1990

On 25 July 1990 government security forces detained approximately forty members of the African National Congress (ANC) and South African Communist Party (SACP)

25 July 1987

The body of Eric Mntonga, co-director of the Institute for a Democratic Alternative for South Africa (IDASA) in the border region, was found on a dirt road near King William's Town in the Eastern Cape

24 July 1980

The biggest strike by the migrant municipal workers took place in Johannesburg, the largest and most industrialised city in South Africa.

24 July 1986

Zambian President, Kenneth Kaunda publicly rebuked Britain's foreign secretary, Geoffrey Howe, accusing him and President Reagan of supporting South Africa’s apartheid government.

24 July 1999

Benni McCarthy of Bafana Bafana, accepted a contract of R38, 5 million to play for the Spanish club Real Club Celta de Vigo.

23 July 1996

Penelope Penny Heyns was born on 8 November 1974 in Springs, Gauteng Province. Heyns began swimming at a young age and displayed great skills.

23 July 1989

On 23 July 1989 a blast occurred opposite the Athlone Magistrate's Court and police complex which took the lives of two African National Party (ANC) activists.

23 July 1954

The then African National Congress (ANC) Secretary-General, Walter Sisulu, was served with two notifications in terms of the Suppression of Communism Act (Act 44 of 1950) .

22 July 1994

A bloodless military coup occurred in Gambia when five junior military officers led by Lieutenant Yahya Jammeh overthrew the government of Sir Dawda Jawara.

22 July 1991

The African National Congress (ANC), in an emergency meeting, called for the dismissal of Law and Order Minister Adriaan Vlok and Defence Minister Magnus Malan

22 July 1988

On 22 July 1988 Zollie Malinga, Bulenani Ngcuka, Omar Badsha, Jonathan, Shapiro, Rehana Rossour, Veronica Simmers, Saleem Mowzer, Nconde Balfor and Nams Wessels were released from detention.

21 July, 1967

Chief Albert Luthuli, Nobel Peace Prize winner and former President of the ANC, is killed in Groutville

21 July, 1999

South African athlete, Sergio Motsoeneng, admits to cheating in Comrades Marathon

21 July, 1981

Umkhonto We Sizwe, military wing of the ANC, claims responsibility for power station blast

20 July, 1969

South African invention lands on the moon!

20 July, 1985

The First State of Emergency

20 July, 1992

SA Olympic team leaves for Barcelona

19 July 2000

The sale of diamonds in some African countries has been linked to the funding of African rebel groups, which have in turn funded some of Africa's most vicious civil wars.

19 July 1997

Liberian rebel leader Charles Taylor ascended to presidential power in a peaceful election following a seven-year civil war, launched from neighbouring CÃ´te d'Ivoire in 1989.

19 July 1991

In an interview with the New Nation, Felix Ndimene alleged that the Selous Scouts of Pietersburg and Five Reconnaissance Regiment (5RR)

18 July 2008

Mandela's name resonates with the struggle for independence and social, economic, political and institutional rights of Black people.

18 July 1998

Nelson Mandela first married in 1944. He and his wife Evelyn had 2 children and divorced in 1957

18 July 1918

Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela was born on 18 July 1918 in the small village of Mvezo, in the district of Qunu near Umtata, Transkei

17 July 2004

Former President Nelson Mandela, speaking in a meeting of international dignitaries in Bangkok, Thailand, said he could not receive a better birthday gift the next day than a commitment by the world to take action against Aids.

17 July 1964

The paper 'Leader' announced that African National Congress (ANC) leader Nelson Mandela has been awarded the Joliot Curie Gold Medal for Peace the previous week.

17 July 1950

The history of broadcasting in South Africa can be traced back to 1923, when the first wireless broadcast was made in Johannesburg.

16 July 2006

Mluleki George, SA deputy defence minister, attended the 90th commemoration of the Battle of Delville Wood in France, which raged from 15 to 20 July 1916.

16 July 1989

South Africa's largest labour federation, the Congress of South African Trade Unions (COSATU), held its third annual congress from 12-16 July 1989.

16 July 1982

On 16 July 1982 the first State President of the Republic of South Africa, Charles Robberts (Blackie) Swart,died in Bloemfontein.

14 July 1999

On 26 July 1909, the SS Waratah, with 211 passengers and crew departed from Durban bound for Cape Town, and disappeared without a trace.

14 July 1965

Ndazana Nathaniel Nat Nakasa was awarded the The Niemann Fellowship to study journalism at Harvard University in the US but the government rejected his application for a passport.

14 July 1904

Paul Kruger (Stephanus Johannes Paulus) was born on 10 October 1825 in the Steynsburg district.

13 July 1986

Commonwealth Games officials in London ruled that two South African born athletes, Zola Budd and Annette Cowley, could not participate in the Commonwealth Games as athletes for England.

13 July 1969

Thembekile “Thembi” Mandela, the eldest son of Nelson Mandela and Evelyn Mase was killed in a car accident while his father was serving life sentence on Robben Island.

13 July 1963

The government of India announced that it was cutting India's last remaining link with South Africa by refusing landing and passage facilities to South African aircraft.

12 July 1988

The Star reported that two men, Elliot Nkuma and Joseph Mahlalela were sentenced to death for the necklace murder of M. Mpapne that took place in 1986.

12 July 1998

On 9 July 1998 President Nelson Mandela visited England.

12 July 1954

In 1954 the Minister of Justice C.R. Swart issued African National Congress (ANC) President Chief Albert Luthuli with two banning orders.

11 July 2007

On 11 July 2007, South African actor Bill Flynn passed away, allegedly due to a heart attack.

11 July 2006

Ashwell Prince was appointed as South Africa's first Black Test cricket captain to lead the Protea team in Sri Lanka.

11 July 2004

Each year on 11 July, countries around the world commemorate World Population Day. This day was established by the Governing Council of the United Nations Development Programme in 1989.

10 July 1991

The International Cricket Council (ICC) agreed to grant full membership to the United Cricket Board of South Africa (UCBSA), which would allow South African players to participate in test matches by the end of 1991.

10 July 1986

The South African Police (SAP) and the South African Defence Force (SADF) ambushed and killed six alleged Umkhonto weSizwe (MK) members on the Breslau Road near Alldays.

10 July 1956

Solomon Kalushi Mahlangu, soldier of Umkhonto we Sizwe (MK), armed wing of the African National Congress (ANC), who was executed by the state agents in Pretoria Central Prison, was born in Mamelodi, east of Pretoria

9 July 2011

After five decades of unrest and civil war, South Sudan was granted independence on 9 July 2011 with the town of Juba as a capital.

9 July 2000

Police fired tear gas at unruly fans during a World Cup qualifying soccer game between Zimbabwe and South Africa, setting off a stampede that killed twelve people.

9 July 1988

A Venda schoolteacher, Mr Mkosi Mavhina, was found hanging from a tree 20km from his home.

8 July, 2004

SA to host future Pan African Parliament

8 July, 1989

Minister Kobie Coetsee on meeting between Botha and Mandela

8 July, 1899

Cape Colony Prime Minister opposes War

7 July 1998

Brigadier Theuns Swanepoel ("Rooi Rus"), one of the most feared interrogators of the South African Security Police, dies in Roodepoort.

7 July 1992

In South Africa's first ever FIFA sanctioned match, Bafana Bafana, South Africa's national soccer team, beat Cameroon 1-0 in an international friendly game

7 July 1976

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 missing.

6 July 1987

Dr. Federik van Zyl Slabbert leads a group of fifty-two mainly Afrikaans-speaking intellectuals, to meet with the banned African National Congress (ANC) in Dakar, Senegal.

6 July 1977

Makhaya Ntini, South African cricket player, was born on 6 July 1977 in Mdingi, near King William's Town, in the Eastern Cape.

6 July 1976

The minister of Bantu Education, M.C. Botha, announced that the South African Government had annulled the regulation that Black secondary school pupils be instructed equally in English and Afrikaans.

5 July 2004

Poppie Bereng, who worked as a phlebotomist for the South African National Blood Service (SANBS) in Bloemfontein, was appointed permanently on this date, but refused to sign the offer of employment when she learned that the SANBS racially profiled blood donations

5 July 1991

After a triumphant global tour Nelson Mandela was unanimously elected as president of the African National Congress (ANC) at the party's national conference held in Durban

5 July 1990

On 5 July 1990, Teboho “Tsietsi” Mashinini died under strange circumstances in Conakry, Guinea.

4 July 2004

The eldest person in South Africa and allegedly eldest in the world, Granny Moloko Temo, of Mogodi Village between Dendron and Bochum in Limpopo Province, celebrated her 130 th birthday with her community and well wishers.

4 July 1973

The South African government introduced this bill in the wake of wide-spread labour unrest to set up a limited system of collective bargaining rights for Blacks.

4 July 1789

Fearon Fallows, the first Astronomer Royal at the Cape, was born to John and Rebecca Fallows on 4 July 1789 in Cockermouth, Cumberland, in England.

3 July 1969

Twelve Africans on trial at the Supreme Court in Grahamstown, accused of having conspired to take over a town and kill Whites, were acquitted on the charge.

3 July 1990

Liberian President, Samuel Kanyon Doe offered to resign in response to rebel incursions in his country.

3 July 1992

Thirty-one years after being expelled, South Africa had its membership of the Football International Federation Association (Fifa) reinstated on 3 July 1992.

2 July 2010

On 2 July 2010 the Ghanaian soccer team’s dreams of becoming the first African team to reach the semi-finals of the FIFA World Cup came to an end after they were defeated by Uruguay on penalties.

2 July 2005

On 2 July 2005, South African tennis player, Wesley Moodie, and Australian, Stephen Huss, won the Wimbledon Men's double title.

2 July 1988

On 2 July 1988, Lester Dumakude, commander of an Umkhonto we Sizwe special operations unit, detonated a car bomb by remote control outside Ellis Park Stadium in Johannesburg.

1 July, 1938

South African Press Association is established

1 July, 1968

SA signs Nuclear Non

1 July, 1960

Democratic Republic of Somali is formed

30 June 2011

National Arts Festival celebrates 37 years in Grahamstown

30 June 1974

The South African athlete of international stature, Hezekiel Sepeng, was born in Potchefstroom. Sepeng's running talent was spotted in one of J.P. van der Merwe's coaching clinics in the township outside Potchestroom.

30 June 1921

The South African Reserve Bank (SARB), established as the Central Bank of the Union of South Africa in terms of the Currency and Bank Act of 10 August 1920

28 June 2002

On 28 June 2002 the Congress of South African Trade Unions (Cosatu) and the Treatment Action Campaign (TAC) tabled a national HIV/AIDS treatment plan in the National Economic, Development and Labour Council (Nedlac).

28 June 1995

After the first South Africa democratic election, the country was demarcated into nine provinces. Some of these provinces were given geographical names, like Northern Transvaal and Eastern Transvaal.

28 June 1942

Martin Thembisile Hani (Chris), Chief of Staff of Umkhonto we Sizwe, military arm of the African National Congress (ANC) and General-Secretary of the South African Communist Party (SACP) since December 1991

27 June 2005

The Supreme Court of Appeal refused to allow the Western Cape education MEC, Cameron Dugmore, to compel an Afrikaans-medium school, Mikro, in Kuils River, Cape Town, to change its language policy.

27 June 1996

The Minister of Local Government in Kwazulu-Natal applied to the Supreme Court to have voting in four rural areas declared null and void and for polling to be repeated in those areas.

27 June 1977

Djibouti is a very small country located on the horn of Africa. It is so small that it has an estimated population of less than a million, one of the least populous in Africa. France, which had colonized the country, named it French Somaliland.

26 June 1993

Troops of the right-wing Afrikaner Weerstandsbeweging (AWB), led by Eugene Terre'Blanche, stormed the World Trade Centre near Kempton Park where the Congress for a Democratic South Africa (Codesa) was in session.

26 June 1955

Executives of the African National Congress (ANC), South African Indian Congress (SAIC), South African Congress of Trade Unions (SACTU), Coloured People's Congress (CPC) and the Congress of the Democrats (CoD) met in Tongaat on 23 June 1955.

26 June 1952

Following the adoption of a Programme of Action in the 1949 annual congress, the ANC began the 1950s with mass action campaigns marked by boycotts, strikes and civil disobedience.

25 June 1982

The Durban Supreme Court cancelled the state's announcement of 18 June 1982 that it has repossessed the Ingwavuma region of KwaZulu, on the grounds that the government did not meet its legal obligation to consult fully with the KwaZulu authorities before making its announcement.

25 June 1955

The historic multi-racial convention called The Congress of the People started in Kliptown, near Johannesburg.

25 June 2003

On 25 June 2003, the South African Department of Environmental Affairs and Tourism approved the construction of a prototype pebble bed modular reactor (PBMR) at the Koeberg Nuclear Power Station in the Western Cape.

24 June, 1995

Springboks beat New Zealand in Rugby Wold Cup final match

24 June, 1969

SA player Thabo Mngomeni is born

24 June, 1976

Nyanga school Principal's office burnt

23 June, 1980

Confrontation inevitable if President's Council fails

23 June, 1835

Port Natal is renamed Durban

23 June, 1994

UN welcomes SA back

22 June, 1971

Banned PAC Leader, Robert Sobukwe, is refused an exit permit to leave SA

22 June, 1946

Gandhi demands end to White 'hooliganism'

22 June, 2005

Phumizile Mlambo-Ngcuka is appointed as SA Deputy President

21 June 1992

African National Congress (ANC) President Nelson Mandela announced that he was suspending all talks with the Government in the wake of the killings in Boipatong.

21 June 1939

Dr Essop Goolam Pahad, Minister in the Presidency of the Republic of South Africa since 17 June 1999, was born in Schweizer-Reneke, Western Transvaal (now North-West Province).

21 June 1927

Afrikaner nationalists have rebelled against plans to have a Union Jack (the British flag) in the centre of the national flag.

20 June 2004

On 4 December 2000, the United Nations High Commission on Refugees (UNHCR) declared the 20 June as World Refugee Day.

20 June 2002

The United States (US) shut down its embassy in Nairobi, Kenya, after a terrorist threat. Following the threat, the US and British governments warned their citizens to postpone their travelling to East Africa, especially to Kenya.

20 June 1950

Sam Kahn, leader of the Communist Party of South African (CPSA) and natives' representative in parliament, announced in parliament that the party has disbanded.

19 June 1965

The South African government instructed its ambassador to The Hague to inform the Dutch government of its displeasure over a grant of 100,000 guilders being made to the Defence and Aid Fund for assistance to the victims of apartheid.

19 June 1991

The African National Congress (ANC) activist, Mziwonke 'Pro' Jack was gunned down next to his home in Cape Town.

19 June 1976

Three days after the 1976 Students' Revolt the Government banned 123 people for their involvement.

18 June 2011

"I am an African. I owe my being to the hills and the valleys, the mountains and the glades, the rivers, the deserts, the trees, the flowers, the seas and the ever-changing seasons that define the face of our native land.

18 June 1979

Former minister of labour and a moderate member of the National Party, Marais Viljoen, was inaugurated as South Africa's fifth state president after he had been elected on 4 June 1979.

18 June 1942

President of South Africa and African National Congress president, Thabo Mvuyelwa Mbeki, was born in Idutywa in the Transkei to political activists Epainette and Govan Mbeki.

17 June 1991

For almost 350 years, Black people in South Africa had been subject to exceedingly unjust laws designed to subjugate them and incorporate their lands into the British Empire

17 June 1976

Following the 16 June 1976 Soweto protest and the killing and injuring of student protesters by the indiscriminate use of firearms by the police, the government was faced with a looming crisis.

17 June 1976

Following the onset of the Soweto uprising the previous day, Parliament met in an Extraordinary Session at the request of the leader of opposition, Colin Eglin.

16 June, 1976

Soweto students march against government's language policy

16 June, 2011

The Day of the African Child

16 June, 2002

The first museum is opened in Soweto, and is named after Hector Pieterson, one of the first casualties of the 16 June 1976 Soweto uprising

14 June 2005

President Thabo Mbeki sacks Deputy President Jacob Zuma. Mbeki makes the announcement during a special joint sitting of the two houses of parliament, almost two weeks after Zuma was implicated in corruption

14 June 1996

In a long-anticipated move the recently appointed Minister of Finance, Trevor Manuel announced the government's macro-economic strategy, called Growth, Employment and Redistribution (GEAR)

14 June 1985

Thamsaqa 'Thami' ka Mnyele was a talented graphic artist and a political activist. Due to his political activities, Mnyele was forced to leave his family in Alexander, becoming exiled in Botswana.

13 June 2005

South African engineer, Nuno Gomes, entered the Guinness Book of Records for mankind’s deepest dive ever on 13 June 2005.

13 June 1996

At a regional peace summit initiated by Church leaders and held in Durban, Zulu King Goodwill Zwelithini urged his followers to stop killing each other.

13 June 1975

Robert Sobukwe, former leader of the banned Pan-Africanist Congress (PAC), although still under a banning order, was admitted to practice as an attorney in Kimberley.

12 June 2005

On 12 June 2005, Rain Queen Makobo Modjadji VI died in a hospital in Polokwane, Limpopo Province.

12 June 1979

Former Pan African Congress (PAC) director of Foreign Affairs and representative to the United Nations, David Sibeko, was murdered by a militant stance faction in the PAC.

12 June 1963

The exceptionally cold stretch we have experienced in the country during the last days of May 2007, brings to mind 12 June 1963

11 June 1977

The University of Stellenbosch announced that it was to open its doors to Black, Coloured and Asian students for all post-graduate degrees and would also accept non-White undergraduates for courses not offered at their own universities.

11 June 1988

On 11 June 1988, the British Anti-Apartheid Movement (BAAM) held an 11-hour rock concert at Wembley Stadium in London to pay tribute to Nelson Mandela on his 70th birthday on 18 July.

11 June 2011

For the first time in the history of the Federation of International Football Association (FIFA),the World Cup is staged in Africa.

10 June 1982

Newspaper proprietors and editors of all the main South African newspapers, both English and Afrikaans

10 June 1977

Following the outbreak of pandemonium in South Africa and the use of violence by security forces in dealing with the issues in suppressing the aspirations of the peopl

10 June 1966

In June 1966, Ugandan Prime Minister, Milton Obotea nnounced the proposed division of the province of Buganda into four districts.

9 June, 1976

Students in Soweto on rampage

9 June, 1967

Military service becomes compulsory for White South African men.

9 June, 1964

UN Security Council urges SA government to end Rivonia Trial

8 June 2011

The Oceans are the heart of planet earth as it moderates the weather, provides a potentially unlimited food supply and vast stores of dissolved metals.

8 June 1971

The first meeting of the Student Wages Commission was held at the Bolton Hall, Durban.

8 June 1552

The Portuguese ship São João went down near the mouth of the Mzimvubu River (at the present Port St. Johns) with 600 people on board.

6 June 1995

A year after democratic elections, the newly set up Constitutional Court under presidency of Justice Arthur Chaskalson, abolished the death penalty.

6 June 1960

The system of Black authorities and the reforms brought about in the agricultural sphere were not unreservedly accepted in the homelands.

6 June 1890

Chief Magadu Bhambatha, who was held responsible for the Impi Yamakhanda (poll tax) uprising that was popularly known as the Bambatha rebellion became chief of the AmaZondi people.

5 June 1988

At its Special Congress in May, the Congress of South African Trade Unions (Cosatu) called for three days of national protest against the Labour Relations Amendment Bill (LRA) and restrictions on political organisations.

5 June 1981

On 5 June 1981, the Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (USA) reported that 5 gay men in California were suffering from a rare pneumonia (Pneumocystis carinii pneumonia or PCP)

5 June 1918

On 5 June 1918 disaffected Afrikaners were brought together in a new organisation called Jong Suid-Afrika (Young South Africa). In 1919 the organisation changed its name to Afrikaner Broederbond (Afrikaner Brotherhood).

4 June 1977

A year after the 1976 Soweto Student Uprising, the former Secretary of the South African Catholic Bishops' Conference (SACBC) and current Tshwane Metropolitan Council Mayor

4 June 1969

The denial of South Africa's involvement in arms dealing with the former Rwandan Army came seven years into sanctions placed on South Africa by the United Nations.

4 June 1961

The Iraq Foreign Minister, Hassim Jawad, announced that his country will not recognise the government of South Africa because of its apartheid policies.

3 June 1998

Two brothers, Hendrik and Petrus du Preez appeared before Judge Faan Hanke in Bloemfontein High Court in connection with the murder of two soldiers, Michael Leisanyane and Gilmore van Wyk of Tempe military base near Bloemfontein.

3 June 1978

Security Police Chief, Brigadier C.F. Zietsman, announced that about 4,000 South African exiles were undergoing guerrilla training in Mozambique

3 June 1940

On 4 June 1940, the evacuation of Allied forces from Dunkirk ended as German forces captured the beach port.

2 June, 1990

Mandela meet De Klerk in Pretoria

2 June, 1935

The South African cricket team beats England for the first time on English soil

2 June, 1959

ANC leader Chief Albert Luthuli is banished by the Apartheid Government for five years

1 June, 2002

Former SA Cricket Captain, Hansie Cronje, dies

1 June, 1980

SASOL plant under attack

1 June, 2006

UN spokesman comments on Mugabe's eviction campaign

31 May 1994

On 31 May 1994, the Secretary-General of the Commonwealth of Nations, Chief Emeka Anyaouku told reporters at the Commonwealth Headquarters in London.

31 May 1989

Arguably the grandest marathon in the world, athletes flock to South Africa from all over the world every year to take part in the race.

31 May 1891

Voortrekker leader Andries Pretorius after whom Pretoria was named, died in 1853 at his Magaliesburg home.

30 May 1983

The Appeal Court handed down a landmark decision in the case Rikhoto v. East Rand Administration Board (ERAB), granting him the right to permanent urban status.

30 May 1981

On 30 May 1981, South Africa played its first rugby test match against Ireland at Newlands stadium in Cape Town.

30 May 1975

The Minister of Justice, James Thomas (Jimmy) Kruger, declared the Christian Institute to be an affected organisation under the Affected Organisation's Act of 1974.

29 May 1976

On 29 May 1976, the South African Electricity Supply Commission (ESKOM) announced its decision to order two nuclear power reactors from France.

29 May 1984

Former South Africa Prime Minister, P.W Botha visited eight European countries, Portugal, Great Britain, West Germany, Belgium, France, Austria, Italy and Switzerland.

29 May 1976

On 29 May 1976, the South African Electricity Supply Commission (ESKOM) announced its decision to order two nuclear power reactors from France.

28 May 1901

Allegedly Zulu Paramount Chief Dinuzulu (Dinizulu) refused British instructions to take up arms against the Boer republics during the Second Anglo-Boer War.

28 May 1984

Linguist, educationist and teacher, Ernest Sedumedi Moloto, who served as chairman of both the Tswana Language Committee of SA and the Botswana National Language Committee, died in Mamelodi, Pretoria.

28 May 1995

Ebola Hemorrhagic Fever (EBF) or the Ebola virus as it is also known is a virus that kills its host by attacking the lining of the cells and coagulating the blood in the human body.

27 May 1997

The South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) was plunged into a crisis when the Editor-in-chief of television news, Joe Thloloe, announced his resignation due to irreconcilable differences with Group Chief Executive, Zwelakhe Sisulu.

27 May 1963

Jomo Kenyatta, leader of the Kenyan liberation movement and Mau Mau rebellion against British control was elected as first Prime Minister of a self-governing Kenya, he was inaugurated on 1 June 1963.

27 May 1900

In May 1900, at the height of the South African War (1899-1902), Field Marshall Lord Roberts and his forces crossed the Vaal River heading to Pretoria.

26 May, 1994

President Nelson Mandela announces his intentions to promote national unity

26 May, 1962

South Africa is exonerated by the UN delegation

26 May, 1966

Zola Budd, former SA athlete and World Record holder, is born

25 May, 1960

Violent clashes about the Transkei territorial authorities continues

25 May, 1994

United Nations lifts arms embargo on South Africa

25 May, 1963

The Organisation of African Unity is formed and Africa Day is declared

24 May 1921

The first Comrades Marathon was run by Vic Clapham, ex World War One veteran and his forty-seven friends, who initiated it as a reunion.

24 May 1921

In 1921, in a battle lasting less than 30 minutes between police and Israelites, followers of prophet Enoch Mgijima, more than 180 people were killed.

24 May 1915

On 24 May 1915, soon after it had been decided to establish a Dutch newspaper, the name of the newspaper, De Burger ("The Citizen"), was decided on.

23 May 1994

After the first fully democratic elections, South Africa was officially admitted as 53rd member of the Organisation of African Unity (OAU) at a summit, held in Tunis, Tunisia.

23 May 1981

The State theatre in Pretoria opened in 1981 as a non-profit government funded company. The Japanese- influenced building is actually a complex of theatres.

23 May 1951

Sefako Mapogo Makgatho, a teacher, politician and journalist, who was born in Pietersburg (now Polokwane) district in 1861, died in Riverside, Pretoria.

22 May 2003

South Africa national soccer team, Bafana Bafana played England star-studded team in a friendly international match at Absa Stadium in Durban. The match was to mark South Africa's campaign to host World Cup finals in 2010.

22 May 1996

Former South African Defence Force (SADF) Chief Tienie Groenewald was acquitted by the Durban Supreme Court on all charges related to the 1987 KwaMakhuthu Massacre.

22 May 1945

The South African Bureau of Standard (SABS) was established in terms of Act 24 of 1945. The Act was revised on several occasions and is currently effective as Act 29 of 1993.

21 May 1936

On this day in history, and international conference was held to implement legislation to protect the African elephant and rhinoceros.

21 May 1978

Moses Kotane, the South African Communist Party and African National Congress stalwart passed away in Moscow, Russia where he was hospitalised after a long illness he suffered since 1968.

21 May 1985

During the raid on the Cabinda oil refinery, Angola, on the 21 May 1985, Capt. Wynand du Toit was taken captive, and two other South African commandoes were killed. The rest of the commando unit evacuated successfully.

20 May 1987

Two bombs exploded at the Johannesburg magistrate's court. The first, a minor explosion that acted as a decoy, was followed by a second more powerful charge minutes later.

20 May 1983

On the afternoon of 20 May 1983, two African National Congress (ANC) cadres, Freddie Shangwe and Ezekial Maseko, drove to Church Street in Pretoria and parked their vehicle in close vicinity of the building which housed the South African Air Force (SAAF) headquarters.

20 May 1966

Within the old South Africa, 10 homelands were created. The 'separate development' policies (Apartheid) of H.F. Verwoerd resulted in the 'awarding' of 'self-government' to four of these 10 homelands including an area known as the Transkei in 1963.

19 May 2000

Thabo Mbeki is honoured

19 May 1930

The roots of White women's suffrage in South Africa began with the founding of the Women's Christian Temperance Union (WCTU) in 1899. The goal of this organisation was to campaign against the trade in alcohol, which they considered the greatest contributor to moral decay.

19 May 1659

With the coming of the Dutch settlers, the Khoikhoi faced a stronger demand for their cattle. Trade disputes and charges of theft caused great tension between colonists and the Khoikhoi who feared that the settlement of free burghers

18 May, 1991

The ANC threatens to suspend constitutional talks

18 May, 1903

Milner proposes conditional voting rights for 'non-Whites' in SA

18 May, 1912

Walter Sisulu, co-founder of the ANCYL and Umkhonto we Sizwe, is born

17 May 2011

The 17 May, is World Telecommunications Day (WTD). It commemorates the founding of the (ITU) International Telecommunications Union on 17 May 1865.

17 May 1994

Present day Malawi became the British colony of Nyasaland in 1890, after aggressive diplomatic conflict with Germany. In 1964, Britain released the colony and it became Malawi, with Kamuzu Banda sworn is as the country's first president.

17 May 1995

The South African parliament approved legislation to set up the Truth and Reconciliation Commission in 1995.

16 May 1977

Winnie Madikizela-Mandela, former wife of Nelson Mandela, was banished to a dusty Afrikaner dominated town of Brandfort in the Free State where she was unceremoniously dumped at house 802 with her youngest daughter, Zinzi.

16 May 1976

Pupils at Phefeni Secondary School started boycotting classes in protest against the use of Afrikaans as medium of instruction in certain subjects in schools.

16 May 1971

The South African Prime Minister B.J. Vorster declared that if the positive signs of cooperation with the rest of Africa are interpreted accurately, South Africa could become the leading state in Southern Africa.

15 May 2004

On 15 May 2004, the president of the Federation of International Football Association's (FIFA), Joseph "Sepp" Blatter, announced that South Africa would host the 2010 Soccer World Cup.

15 May 1997

National Party (NP) leader F W de Klerk's failure to accept that the former NP government's policies had given security forces a licence to kill was devastating, according Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) chairman Archbishop Desmond Tutu.

15 May 1970

South Africa suffered heavily in the international sports arena as result of its apartheid policy.

14 May 1973

Patrick Laurence, journalist of the Star, was charged with contravening the Suppression of Communism Act of 1950 by publishing a statement made by Robert Sobukwe, the former president of the Pan Africanist Congress (PAC).

14 May 1997

Speaking before the Truth and Reconciliation Commission for a second time, F.W. de Klerk repeats his assertion that murder and torture had never been part of government policy.

14 May 1991

Winnie Nomzamo Mandela, ANC activist and later president of the African National Congress Women's League (1993) and deputy minister of arts and culture (1994) was sentenced to six years for her 'complicity' in the kidnapping and beating of four youths.

13 May, 1960

Dipuo Peters is born

13 May, 1996

President Mandela reshuffles Cabinet Ministers

13 May, 1991

Winnie Mandela is found guilty

12 May 1996

Matamela Cyril Ramaphosa confirmed that he was resigning as African National Congress Secretary-General, as well as from Parliament. Speculation around Ramaphosa's resignation was because of a belief that he has been overlooked by Nelson Mandela

12 May 1972

SASO adopts the Alice Declaration

12 May 1968

Academic and ANC politician Z.K. Matthews dies

11 May 1997

The Chairman of the Pan-Africanist Congress and disciplinary committee announces that former party President and Robben Island detainee Clarence Makwetu has been expelled party for three years

11 May 1984

South Africa's longest serving White political prisoner, David Kitson, was released, seven months short of completing his twenty-year sentence for sabotage.

11 May 1959

Professional soccer is introduced in SA when the National Football League is founded

10 May 1996

Deputy President F.W. de Klerk announced that the National Party was to withdraw from the Government of National Unity on June 30.

10 May 1963

When the apartheid government introduced the General Law Amendment Act, the South African Security Police, or Special Branch, were given the authority to arrest anyone they suspected of involvement in an act against the State.

10 May 1950

Life Magazine was founded in in 1883 and was published for 53 years as a general interest light entertainment magazine.

9 May 2004

Well-known SA musician, Brenda Fassie died at the Sunninghill Hospital, Johannesburg. The artist was hospitalized on April 26 and fell into a coma until she passed away thirteen days later.

9 May 1966

Bram Fischer, the former political activist was arrested in 1964 for being a member of the illegal organisation Communist Party of South Africa (CPSA).

9 May 1960

At a meeting of Commonwealth Heads' of Government, Commonwealth leaders discussed SA's apartheid policy.

8 May 2004

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 caring for vulnerable communities.

8 May 1996

The adoption of the South African Constitution on 8 May 1996 was one of the turning points in the history of the struggle for democracy in South Africa.

8 May 1925

When the Union of South Africa was formed in 1910, it consisted of the Transvaal, the Orange Free State, Natal and the Cape Province.

7 May, 1985

International Conference on Women and Children under Apartheid starts

7 May, 1987

COSATU headquarters Johannesburg is sabotaged

7 May, 1936

British female pilot Amy Johnson lands in Cape Town and sets a new flight record

6 May 1889

Church Square, which was initially called Market Square, was home to the first church built in Pretoria, which burnt down in 1882.

6 May 1958

Margaret Rheeder, found guilty of poisoning her husband, Benjamin Fredenman, was hung in Pretoria.

6 May 1975

The government announces that its aim, is to provide all Black children with free and compulsory education as soon as possible.

5 May, 1985

Sipho Mutsi dies in police custody

5 May, 1983

The RSA Constitution Bill goes before the House of Assembly

5 May, 1925

Afrikaans declared an official language of South Africa

4 May, 1983

Victor Sidney Norton, journalist and the first South African

4 May, 1960

Robert Sobukwe is sentenced to three years' imprisonment

4 May, 1925

Ruth First is born

3 May 1991

World Press Freedom Day is observed on 3 May. This day was the culmination of a UNESCO seminar held in Windhoek, Namibia from 29 April 1991 to the 3 May 1991.

3 May 1988

Representatives of South Africa, the United States (US), Angola and Cuba met in London (3-4 May) in search of a solution to the Angolan war and independence for Namibia.

3 May 1781

Piet Retief was one of the leaders of the Great Trek that introduced Afrikaner settlement to the interior.

2 May 1990

The Groote Schuur talks between the South African government and the African National Congress (ANC) were held on 2, 3 and 4 May 1990.

2 May 1980

Pope John Paul II began his first tour of Africa, including visits to Zaire (presently known as the Democratic Republic of Congo), Congo, Kenya, Ghana, Upper Volta (now Burkina Faso ) and the Ivory Coast.

2 May 1954

Bulelani Ngcuka, born in Middledrift, Eastern Cape on 2 May 1954, is a former African National Congress political activist and a lawyer.

1 May, 1995

Nelson Mandela is escorted out of Umlazi stadium

1 May, 1995

First celebration of May Day in South Africa

1 May, 1989

Anti-apartheid activist Dr. David Webster is assassinated

30 April, 1930

Josiah Gumede is succeeded by Pixley ka Isaka Seme as ANC president

30 April, 1958

Mbhazima Shilowa, former premier of Gauteng, is born

30 April, 1982

P.W. Botha and Kenneth Kaunda in a historic meeting

29 April, 1994

First democratic election results for SA

29 April, 1829

Freedom of press is established at the Cape

29 April, 1961

Nelson Mandela is acquitted of high treason.

28 April, 1994

IEC extends election dates

28 April, 1978

The Azanian People's Organisation is formed

28 April, 1990

Father Michael Lapsley, an Anglican priest, is injured by a letter-bomb

27 April, 1994

The first democratic election is held in South Africa

27 April, 2011

Freedom Day is celebrated in South Africa

27 April, 1961

Sierra Leone gains independence from Britain

26 April, 1679

The Castle of Good Hope is the oldest surviving colonial building in South Africa.

26 April 1999

The Chernobyl computer virus, perhaps the most destructive so far, damages hundreds of thousands of computers around the world.

26 April 1994

Four years after the unbanning of the liberation movements and release of political prisoners, SA held its first multi-racial elections.

25 April 1977

The South African government for the first time allowed twenty local journalists, five correspondents of international news agencies and two official photographers to visit the prison on Robben Island where 370 men, convicted under security legislation, were held.

25 April 1996

Political parties in parliament tabled more than 300 amendments to the constitutional legislation

25 April 2004

The Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe, who arrived in Pretoria for the 10th anniversary

24 April, 1976

Benjamin Tyamzashe receives an honorary degree

24 April, 2001

Jacob Zuma launches the CIDB

24 April, 1993

Oliver Tambo dies in Johannesburg

23 April 1977

Mugabe announces the merging of ZANU and ZAPU

23 April 1997

AWB leader, Eugene TerreBlanche, is convicted of attempted murder and assault

23 April 1984

Discovery of the AIDS virus is publicly announced

22 April 1960

1 575 people are detained under a state of emergency

22 April 1935

Sathyandranath Ragunanan (Mac) Maharaj, political activist and first SA Minister of Transport in the democratically elected government in 1994, was born in Newcastle, Natal

22 April 1819

The nine Frontier or Xhosa Wars re-shaped and dominated 19th Century South African History, and took place in the Eastern Cape between the Xhosa and European settlers

21 April 1980

The Coloured schools' boycott began as result of students' dissatisfaction with the South African educational and political systems.

21 April 1982

A Group Areas Amendment Bill, introduced on 7 March 1982 and enacted on 21 April, maintained the existing commitment to the principle of separate residential areas, schools and amenities for different races, but excluded sports venues from its provisions.

21 April 1937

Benjamin Mzimkulu (Ben) Macala was born in Bloemfontein, Orange Free State. As a young boy he tended cattle on a farm in the Free State and drew on rocks with stones. He was largely self-taught, although he studied for a few months under Cecil Skotnes at Jubilee Art Centre in 1964.

20 April 1999

South African Judge Edwin Cameron reveals his HIV status

20 April 1994

The State President F.W. de Klerk issues a proclamation adopting the new national flag and National Anthem of SA

19 April 1963

On 19 April 1963, African National Congress (ANC) leader Walter Sisulu forfeited R6000 bail and went underground.

19 April 1960

The South West African People's Organisation (SWAPO) was founded in Windhoek, South West Africa (presently Namibia) on 19 April 1960 by Herman Toivo ja Toivo.

19 April 1906

The Bambatha Rebellion took place near Greytown in KwaZulu-Natal.

18 April 1658

On 18 April 1658, six years after the Dutch East India Company established its colony at the Cape, the first formal school was opened.

18 April 1658

On 18 April 1658, six years after the Dutch East India Company established its colony at the Cape, the first formal school was opened.

18 April 1980

Rhodesia gained independence after ninety years as a British colony, taking the new name Zimbabwe.

16 April 1981

The S. A government seizes the passport of Bishop Desmond Tutu

16 April 1958

The last general election of the Union of South Africa

16 April 1990

Nelson Mandela says "thank you" to the world

15 April, 1996

The Truth and Reconciliation Commission begins

15 April, 1954

Walter Sisulu acts against Sophiatown forced removals

15 April, 2000

First victim of the land invasions in Zimbabwe, David Stevens, is murdered

14 April 2004

South Africa held its third democratic elections on 14 April 2004. A total of 20.6 million People were registered to vote

14 April 1990

Nelson Mandela admits to the torture of dissident guerrillas

14 April 1986

Desmond Tutu is elected Archbishop

13 April 2011

The death of Andries Tatane in service delivery protest in the Free State sparks national outrage

13 April 1996

Ramaphosa announces his decision to leave parliament

13 April 1985

Mass funeral for those killed at Sharpeville commemoration

12 April 1993

Thousands protest the killing of Chris Hani

12 April 1969

Lucas Radebe is born

12 April 1942

Jacob Zuma, President of South Africa and of the ANC, is born.

11 April 2001

Ellis Park soccer stampede kills 43

11 April 1961

Nigeria imposes sanctions on South Africa, and implements a total trade boycott

11 April 1948

Manilal Gandhi leads a resistance group across the Natal

10 April, 1993

Chris Hani, the SACP secretary-general, is assassinated

10 April 1978

Transkei breaks all diplomatic ties with the Republic of South Africa

10 April, 1999

Bafana Bafana loses to Gabon at Odi Stadium

9 April, 1860

Emily Hobhouse, humanitarian and pacifist during the Anglo

9 April, 1679

First census conducted at the Cape

9 April, 1960

Assassination attempt on Verwoerd

8 April, 1991

Peace talks between ANC and IFP are called off

8 April, 1954

South African poet Vincent Oliphant is born

8 April, 1987

Three people are killed in a cross

7 April, 1999

The TRC refuses amnesty to Hani's killers

7 April, 1997

The ANC leader in the KwaZulu Natal midlands, Sifiso Nkabinde, is expelled from the ANC

7 April, 1884

Charlotte Maxeke born on 7 April 1847

6 April, 1959

The PAC is formed

6 April, 1994

ANC dismisses proposals to postpone elections

6 April, 1979

MK hero cadre Solomon Kalushi (Khala) Mahlangu is executed

5 April 1999

President Nelson Mandela earned worldwide praise for his role in persuading Libya to hand over two suspects accused of placing a bomb on Pan Am Flight 103, which exploded over Lockerbie in Scotland in 1988, killing altogether 270 people

5 April 1986

Lucky Kutumela, journalist and member of the Azanian Peoples Organisation (AZAPO) and Media Workers association of South Africa (MWASA) succumbed to his injuries at Pietersburg (now Polokwane) hospital after being severely assaulted

5 April 1959

The formation of the Pan African Congress (PAC) came as a result of indifferences within the ranks of the African National Congress.

4 April, 1980

ANC attack on Booysens Police Station

4 April, 1939

Hugh Masekela, South African musician, is born

3 April 1968

On 3 April 1968, South Africa Prime Minister B.J. Vorster announced that five ‘non-White’ South African University Colleges will be released from their association with the University of South Africa (UNISA).

3 April 1973

The basic concept of cellular phones began in 1947, when researchers began to examine crude mobile (car) phones. These researchers realized that by using small cells (range of service area) with frequency reuse they could increase the traffic capacity of mobile phones substantially.

3 April 1930

Born in 1891(some sources say 1894), Tafari Makonnen, or Haile Selassie, as he was later known, was born the son of Ras Makonnen Wolde Michael, the Governor of the region of Harrar. He is credited for modernising Ethiopia

2 April 1987

Nnoseng Ellen Kate Kuzwayo made history when she became the first black woman to receive an honorary degree from the University of the Witwatersrand on 2 April 1987.

2 April 1918

In December 1863 about 30 leading inhabitants of Stellenbosch gathered in the Reading Room in Dorp Street to discuss the provision of advanced education.

2 April 1879

The Anglo-Zulu War Battle of Gingindlovu takes place. The Battle of Gingindlovu took place shortly after the Battle of Kambula and Rorkes drift.

1 April, 1955

ANC launches mass boycott of Bantu Education

1 April, 1965

ANC member, Henry Fazzie sentenced to 20 years in jail under the Sabotage Act

1 April, 1961

Robben Island is turned into a prison

1 April 1961

Robben Island is turned into a prison

1 April 1922

The South African Naval Service is founded

1 April 1863

First Tramway Company in Cape Town commences operations, with a horse

31 March, 1946

Indians march in Durban to protest against the Ghetto Act

31 March, 1993

President de Klerk warns General Bantu Holomisa

31 March, 1694

Sheik Yusuf arrives at the Cape of Good Hope

30 March, 1966

National Party wins general election

30 March, 1960

State of Emergency follows Sharpeville massacre

30 March, 1951

The Group Areas Act comes into effect

29 March, 1990

ANC and IFP joint peace rally is called off

29 March, 1933

Dr Stanley Mogoba is born in Polokwane

29 March, 1982

Journalist and political activist Selby Msimang dies

28 March, 1960

Natives are making bonfires of their "passes" in Johannesburg

28 March, 1996

Mandela reshuffles the cabinet

28 March, 1996

IFP commemorates Shell House shootings.

27 March, 1876

The Cape Times appears for the first time

27 March, 1985

Beyers Naudé and Allan Boesak arrested for leading a protest march

27 March, 1995

Winnie Mandela is dismissed from government

26 March, 1902

Cecil John Rhodes (48) dies in Muizenberg

26 March, 1990

NP government abandons segregated education

26 March, 1998

US President Bill Clinton arrives in Cape Town

25 March 1994

The ANC leads a march through central Durban, attended by up to 100,000 people, to demand their voting rights.

25 March 1939

Former Chief Justice Pius Nkonzo Langa is born

25 March 1961

Nelson Mandela is appointed the Secretary of the National Action Council.

24 March, 1991

Twelve people are killed in Daveyton

24 March, 1995

De Klerk calls for stringent safety measures

24 March, 1593

The Santo Alberto is wrecked

23 March, 1959

Conservationist and entrepreneur Rufus Maruma is born

23 March, 1966

South African Communist Party leader Abram Fischer is sentenced to life imprisonment on charges of communism

23 March, 1984

Dorothy Nyembe is released from jail

22 March, 1956

Martin Luther King is arrested for his role in a bus boycott

22 March, 1979

President Vorster challenges Dr Rhoodie

22 March, 1999

S.A. beats New Zealand by 3

21 March 1996

The killing of eleven people at Donnybrook, Kwazulu-Natal on the 21 March 1996 can be considered as part of the ongoing rivalry between supporters of the Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP) and the African National Congress (ANC).

21 March 1966

This day was proclaimed by the United Nations Organisation's General Assembly in 1966. It came about as a result of the Sharpeville Massacre, which took place on this day in 1960.

21 March 1960

On 21 March, 1960, a breakaway organisation from the African National Congress (ANC), the Pan Africanist Congress (PAC) staged an anti-pass demonstration outside Sharpeville police station near Vereeniging.

20 March, 1982

The Conservative Party is formed

20 March, 1993

South African artist, Gerard Sekoto, dies

20 March, 1999

The Azanian People's Liberation Army (APLA) disbands

19 March, 1975

The Labour Party holds the majority on the Coloured Persons' Representative Council

19 March, 1993

Three people murdered at Eikenhof

19 March, 1998

Makhaya Ntini represents South Africa at Newlands

18 March, 1974

Connie Mulder announces banning off WCC officials from SA

18 March, 1979

Government admits responsibility for Mdluli's death

18 March, 1922

The Rand Revolt Ends

17 March, 1992

F.W. de Klerk announces Whites-only referendum results

17 March, 1999

Allan Boesak guilty on charges of fraud

17 March, 1820

The first 1820 British Settlers arrive in South Africa.

16 March, 1959

Tito Mboweni, Head of the Reserve Bank is born

16 March, 1956

The Riotous Assemblies Act Commences

16 March, 1892

James Sebe Moroka is born

15 March, 1922

The Rand Revolt strikers' stronghold at Fordsburg Square falls to the government

15 March, 1946

The Asiatic Land Tenure and Indian Representation Act is introduced

15 March, 2001

Department of Transport launches Be Legal campaign

14 March, 1982

A bomb blast rocks the ANC London office

14 March, 2005

A prison warder is killed in Groote Schuur Hospital

14 March, 2005

SA struggles to fight HIV/AIDS pandemic

13 March, 1980

Lillian Ngoyi dies

13 March, 2002

The Angolan government announces a unilateral ceasefire

13 March, 2004

Former Cabinet Minister Dullah Omar dies

12 March, 1868

Basutoland (now Lesotho) becomes British territory

12 March, 1990

Mandela and Tambo meet in Sweden

12 March, 2005

Pioneer tomato farmer Bertie van Zyl is buried in Mooketsi

11 March, 1996

Gen. Magnus Malan appears in court

11 March, 1978

The apartheid government agrees to eliminate racial segregation in theatres but not in cinemas

1 March, 1870

King Moshoeshoe dies

10 March 1926

South African artist Michael Zondi is born

10 March 1984

ANC mounts a sabotage attack on fuel depot in Ermelo

10 March 1994

Lucas Mangope leaves Mmabatho due to uprising

9 March, 1831

The French Foreign Legion is founded

9 March, 1998

COSATU withdraws from Parliamentary session on budget

9 March, 1998

Robert McBride is arrested in Mozambique

8 March, 1917

First celebration of International Women's Day

8 March, 1986

Moses Mabhida dies in Maputo

8 March, 2004

15 suspected mercenaries, many of them South African, are arrested in Equatorial Guinea

7 March, 1902

Gen. De la Rey captures Lord Methuen

7 March, 1952

WW2 veteran Job Masego dies

7 March, 1964

Minister of Posts and Telegraphs, Dr Albert Hertzog, confirms that television would not be introduced in South Africa

6 March, 1957

Gold Coast (Ghana) gains independence

6 March, 1982

F.W. de Klerk, Minister of Mineral and Energy Affairs, elected as new leader of the Transvaal National Party

6 March, 2006

Tsotsi, directed by Gavin Woods, becomes the first South African film to receive an Oscar

5 March, 1928

Enoch Mgijima dies

5 March, 1990

South Africa sends troops to Ciskei

5 March, 1916

SA troops invade East Africa in their confrontation with German forces in World War I

4 March 1990

The release of Nelson Mandela on 11 February 1990 was a catalyst that sped up the change in the political dispensation in South Africa. On 4 March 1990 343 political prisoners on Robben Island went on a hunger strike demanding their release in order to strengthen the bargaining positions of the ANC.

4 March 1980

The Zimbabwe African National Union-Patriotic Front (ZANU-PF) won the first free elections in Zimbabwe. Robert Mugabe, president of ZANU since 1977, became prime minister

4 March 1963

Former secretary-general of the African National Congress (ANC), Walter Sisulu, was convicted of having incited a stay-at-home of African workers in protest of the Republic of South Africa Constitution Act of 1961.

3 March 2004

Angered by the manner in which Haiti's President Jean-Bertrand Aristide was allegedly forced to flee his country, the fifteen-nation Caribbean Community said it would not provide troops for the United Nations (UN) Peacekeeping Force in Haiti

3 March 1973

South Africa signs CITES treaty on international trade in endangered species of wild flora and fauna

3 March 1939

The ‘Timeless Test’ starts in Durban

2 March, 1866

The Stellenbosch Gymnasium is founded

2 March, 1987

Ladysmith Black Mambazo wins a Grammy

2 March, 1994

IFP agrees to participate in 1994 elections

1 March, 1849

The Cape Agulhas lighthouse begins operating

1 March, 1922

Wits attains full University status

1 March, 1994

Walvis Bay is handed over to Namibia

29 February, 1988

Archbishop Desmond Tutu is arrested

29 February, 1940

Hattie McDaniels Wins An Academy Award

29 February, 1824

Prussian Nobility Establishes Berlin Missionary Society

28 February, 1956

Separate Representation of Coloured Voters Act is passed

28 February, 1992

SA signs diplomatic relations with Russia

28 February, 1998

SA team loses to its Egyptian counterpart

27 February, 1991

Agreement to reincorporate Ciskei is reached

27 February, 1978

Robert Sobukwe, first PAC president, dies

27 February, 1996

Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma welcomes Cuban doctors

26 February, 1965

Western countries continue to provide arms to South Africa despite UN sanctions

26 February, 1910

Gandhi supports APO's Day of Mourning

26 February, 1996

Adriaan Vlok applies for amnesty

25 February, 1990

Mandela addresses ANC rally in Durban

25 February, 1994

The Women's National Coalition Conference starts

25 February, 1937

SA artist, Daniel Sefundi Rakgoathe is born

24 February, 1992

De Klerk announces referendum date

24 February, 1992

ANC promulgates its constitutional proposals

24 February, 1976

The first indications of protest over Afrikaans in Soweto schools

23 February, 1945

Allan Boesak is born

23 February, 1997

Dispute over SA military integration

23 February, 1998

Botha pleads not guilty to contempt charges

22 February, 1857

Baden Powell is Born

22 February, 1996

Black pupils arrive at school escorted by Police Officers

22 February, 1997

New ANC National Working Committee is elected

21 February, 1858

Walter Benson Rubusana, founding member of the ANC, is born

21 February, 1995

Inkatha Freedom Party boycotts parliament

21 February, 2001

Miriam Makeba is nominated for a Grammy

20 February, 1993

President F. W. de Klerk ring cabinet changes

20 February, 1984

SA poet Sydney Vernon Peterson dies

20 February, 1950

The Population Registration Bill is read for the first time

19 February, 1990

Nelson Mandela was issued with his first passport after being released from prison

19 February, 1993

African National Congress (ANC) and government decided to go ahead with the necessary reforms paving a way for a multiparty democratic election to be held in April 1994.

19 February, 1970

Head of the Bureau of State Security (BOSS) General H. Van Den Bergh,, briefly appeared on Rhodesian (now known as Zimbabwe) TV, telling viewers that anti-apartheid protests overseas were cautiously planned by communists linked to the South African Communist Party (SACP) and leftists in exile.

18 February, 2005

A Xhosa film wins Golden Bear award

18 February, 1982

Outrage at the kidnapping of student leader Lengene

18 February, 1953

Jeff Radebe is born

17 February, 1998

Tony Johnstone wins Alfred Dunhill PGA golf tournament.

17 February, 1998

Tony Johnstone wins Alfred Dunhill PGA golf tournament

17 February, 1983

Zim's interior minister Joshua Nkomo is dismissed

17 February, 1951

Patricia de Lille Born in Beaufort West

16 February, 1989

UDF Disowns Winnie Mandela

16 February, 1988

Chris Heunis meets Enos Mabuza of KaNgwane

16 February, 1959

Fidel Castro becomes Premier of Cuba

15 February, 1968

International Olympic Committee re-admit South Africa

15 February, 1886

Mafeking is established

15 February, 1839

Third Voortrekker Town Established

14 February, 1995

Official inauguration of the Constitutional Court

14 February, 1994

Zulu King Zwelithini threatens to establish a separate Zulu state

14 February, 1933

Hertzog and Smuts to form a coalition

13 February, 1995

Madikizela Mandela is accused of misuse of funds

13 February, 1961

Patrice Lumumba, former Prime Minister of the Democratic Republic of Congo, is shot

13 February, 1713

Smallpox Epidemic Strikes the Cape

12 February, 1980

The Quail Commission report is released

12 February, 1880

Ermelo is founded

12 February, 1951

Kwame Nkrumah is released from jail

10 February, 2008

TUKS is 100 years old

10 February, 1991

Over 17 million arrested under pass laws

10 February, 1987

Shift in US Foreign Policy Toward Apartheid State

9 February, 2002

Princess Margaret dies

9 February, 1978

Winnie Mandela receives a 6 months' sentence

9 February, 1955

The Star Condemns Forced Removals In Sophiatown

8 February, 1981

Mozambique stresses its continued support for the ANC

8 February, 1975

Drum Magazine calls for the release of all political prisoners

8 February, 1881

Boers defeat British in the battle of Ingogo (Anglo-Boer War 1)

7 February, 1986

Dr Frederik van Zyl Slabbert resigns from parliament

7 February, 1983

Cedric Mayson is charged with treason

7 February, 1969

White entrepreneurs to be given contracts in the 'homelands'

6 February, 1901

San involvement in the Battle of Chrissiesmeer

6 February, 1979

P.W. Botha offers to resign

6 February, 1838

Zulu King Dingane orders the killing of Piet Retief's men

5 February 1999

President Nelson Mandela delivered his last major address to parliament at the opening of the ultimate session of the first democratically elected parliament.

5 February 1970

A disciplined and perfect off-spinner, John Traicos one of international cricket's most unusual members, made his Test debut - for South Africa vs Australia at Durban in their final series before their banishment from Test cricket.

5 February 1963

In an attempt to destabilise the country and cause an uprising against the Apartheid government, members of Poqo, the Pan Africanist Congress of Azania's military wing kill a White family in their caravan while they camp on the Bashee River

February 4, 1997

The New South African Constitution takes effect.

February 4, 1974

Abram Onkgopotse Tiro, founder of the South African Student Organisation is killed by a parcel bomb in Botswana.

February 4, 1920

The first air flight from England to South Africa takes place.

3 February, 1992

De Klerk and Mandela receive UNESCO peace prize

3 February, 1960

Macmillan's winds of change' speech in Parliament

3 February, 1848

Britain annexes territory between the Orange and Vaal Rivers

2 February, 1990

The Harms Commission terms of reference are laid out

2 February, 2007

First National Bank (FNB) cancels its R20 million anti-crime initiative.

2 February, 1990

South Africa's President F.W. de Klerk promises to free Nelson Mandela and legalizes ANC and 60 other political organisations

1 February, 1991

President F.W. de Klerk promises repeal of apartheid laws

1 February, 1974

SASO leader, Abram Tiro is assassinated

1 February, 1920

The South African Air Force is established

31 January, 2007

Ma Tambo dies in Johannesburg

31 January, 1985

President P W Botha offers Nelson Mandela conditional release from prison

31 January, 1964

The University of Port Elizabeth is founded

30 January, 1987

Carte Blanche is denied permission to quote Oliver Tambo

30 January, 1948

Mohandas (aka Mahatma) Karamchand Gandhi is assassinated by a Hindu nationalist in New Delhi, India

30 January, 1899

Dr Max Theiler, SA's First Nobel Laureate is born

29 January 1991

A summit meeting was held in Durban between the African National Congress (ANC) and the Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP). The meeting was addressed by Zulu Chief Mangosuthu Gatsha Buthelezi and ANC Deputy President Nelson Mandela

29 January 1986

Yoweri Moseveni after five years in the bush, was sworn in as the new Ugandan Head of State. He ruled the country for a decade without having been elected to power.

29 January 1957

The Durban College of Education is founded

28 January 2005

Gift Of The Givers Foundation logo Dr Imtiaz Sooliman, national co-ordinator of the Gift Of The Givers Foundation, announced in Johannesburg that the foundation would fly forty tons of food, medical supplies and water into Somalia immediately after getting a go-ahead from the United Nations

28 January 1997

Four apartheid-era police officers, including police Colonel Gideon Nieuwoudt who appeared before the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) admitted their role in the 1977 killing of Steve Biko

28 January 1942

Five power stations are blown up by pro-Axis saboteurs in an attempt to destabilise the Rand gold mines.

27 January, 1980

Robert Mugabe returns to Rhodesia after being in exile for five years

27 January, 1961

Arrests in Pondoland

27 January, 1914

Women Draw up a Petition against Pass Laws

26 January, 1991

Rebels overrun the Somalian capital of Mogadishu

26 January, 1999

Chairman of the IEC resigns

26 January, 2005

Cape High Court suspends pebble bed modular reactor at Koeberg

25 January, 1914

Durban mass meeting endorses Smuts and Gandhi agreement

25 January, 1980

Three ANC guerrillas seize a bank and twenty–five hostages

25 January, 1965

Abram Fischer fails to arrive in court

24 January, 1960

Riots erupt in Cato Manor

24 January, 1964

SA Government spoil Chief Albert Luthuli's chance of Rectorship

24 January, 1979

Dr Connie Mulder resigns as a result of his involvement in the Information Scandal

23 January, 1879

The British successfully thwart the Zulu attack at Rorke's Drift

23 January, 1998

P.W. Botha appears in court

23 January, 2007

Presley Chweneyagae, star of the Oscar winning movie Tsotsi, is arrested for fraud in Pretoria

22 January, 1992

Nelson Mandela and F.W. de Klerk are awarded the Unesco Peace Prize

22 January, 1981

Percy Qoboza, editor of the Post, states that it is difficult to see how a credible newspaper for Blacks can be created in South Africa

22 January, 1874

Founder of South African Library for the Blind (SALB), Josephine Wood is born

21 January, 1990

Nelson Mandela condemns the Lockerbie bombing

21 January, 1960

Coalbrook mine disaster kills more than 400

21 January, 2006

Tshwane Metro's 5th anniversary celebrations held at Church Square

20 January, 1879

British troops establish their camp at Isandlwana

20 January, 1939

The highest temperature in the shade is recorded in the Cape

20 January, 1986

Bishop Tutu receives Martin Luther King Award

19 January, 1999

Colin Chauke is captured

19 January, 1999

Devastating storm hits Mount Ayliff, Eastern Cape.

19 January, 1940

Former Finance Minister Barend du Plessis is born

18 January, 1967

Lesotho addresses political exiles in the country

18 January, 1902

Gideon Scheepers executed

18 January, 1989

President P.W. Botha suffers a stroke.

17 January, 1852

The Sand River Convention, under which Britain renounces all claims to authority beyond the Vaal River, is signed.

17 January, 1988

Percy Qoboza dies

17 January, 1961

Patrice Lumumba is killed

16 January, 1994

Clarence Makwetu announces the PAC's suspension of its armed struggle

16 January, 1990

Paedophile Gert van Rooyen and mistress die in Pretoria

16 January, 1971

The first Cape to Rio yacht race takes place

15 January, 1929

Martin Luther King, Junior, an African-American clergyman who orchestrated social change through non-violent methods is born

15 January, 1813

Judges of the Black Circuit return to Cape Town

15 January, 1876

The first Afrikaans newspaper, 'Die Afrikaanse Patriot', is published in Paarl.

14 January, 1933

Albert Nzula dies in Moscow

14 January, 1999

Benny Lategan is shot dead

14 January, 1971

Britain proposes the sale of arms to South Africa

13 January, 1953

Derek Hanekom is born

13 January, 1963

The South African Non-Racial Olympic Committee is founded

13 January, 1979

Eschel Rhoodie's assets frozen

12 January, 1916

P.W. Botha is born

12 January, 1988

Sithembele Zokwe is assassinated

12 January, 1879

The first battle of the Anglo-Zulu war takes place

11 January, 1903

Alan Paton is born

11 January, 1974

First sextuplets in the world to survive their infancy are born in Cape Town

11 January, 1996

Thabo Mbeki announces judicial inquiry

10 January, 1988

Obed Amon Mwanza of Zimbabwe is killed

10 January, 1993

Bafana Bafana wins against Botswana

10 January, 1900

Lord Roberts arrives at the Cape

9 January 1993

The African National Congress (ANC) National Executive Committee (NEC) presents five demands to be met during the year in order to facilitate South Africa's first democratic elections.

9 January 1973

Around 2 000 workers in the Coronation Brick and Tile factory in Durban downed tools after the employers rejected their demand for a wage increase from R8,97 to R30 per week.

9 January 1951

The international peace keeping body, the United Nations (UN), which had replaced the League of Nations in 1945, opened its headquaters two years after construction work at UN Plaza in New York, USA, had started.

8 January, 1806

The Battle of Blaauwberg takes place

8 January, 1912

The SANNC (later ANC) is founded in Bloemfontein

8 January, 1992

Harry Gwala is awarded Isitwalandwe/Seaparakoe

7 January, 1959

Peter Mokaba is born in Polokwane

7 January, 1919

Industrial and Commercial Workers Union is founded under Clements Kadalie

7 January, 1919

Bantu Women's League protests against pass laws

6 January, 1896

Cecil John Rhodes is forced to resign

6 January, 1995

Joe Slovo dies of cancer at the age of 68

6 January, 2005

Makgatho Mandela dies

5 January, 1965

Mac Maharaj, Laloo Chiba, Raymond Nyanda and Andrew Masondo arrive on Robben Island prison

5 January, 1976

Start of daily television transmissions

5 January, 1985

US Senator Edward Kennedy visits SA

4 January, 1978

Daniel Arap Moi is elected President of Kenya

4 January, 1953

Protest against pass laws in Langa

4 January, 1948

The Flag of the Union of South Africa is hoisted on Prince Edward Island

3 January, 1892

JRR Tolkien born in Bloemfontein

3 January, 1987

Rev Allan Hendrikse and 150 Supporters Swim at a Whites Only Beach in Port Elizabeth.

3 January, 1993

Joseph Skosana is killed

2 January 1985

Moses Josiah Madiba, author, educationist and first Black chancellor of the University of the North, died in Seshego, Pietersburg (now Polokwane) district.

2 January 1968

Renowned surgeon, Dr Chris Barnard, performed his second heart transplant operation at Groote Schuur Hospital a month after his first transplant. Hamilton Naki was part of the team that assisted him.

2 January 1837

Voortrekker leaders Andries Hendrik Potgieter and Gerrit (Gert) Maritz, both Potgieter and Maritz led their troops to Western Transvaal where they attacked Mzilikazi for the Matabele (Ndebele) on the Voortrekkers at Vechtkop (Vegkop)

1 January 1986

South African Government closed its borders with Lesotho, cutting off fundamental food and fuel supplies. The relationship of the South African and Lesotho in the 1970s and early 1980s was fraught with friction.

1 January 1972

For the first time in the history of the South African Police (SAP), policewomen were enlisted as 'full members of the force'.

1 January 1922

Transvaal coal miners embarked on a strike because of a wage cut of 5/- per shift. On 10 January 1922 White mine workers on the Rand gold mines followed their example, because they rejected a proposal that a regulation concerning the ratio of Whites to Blacks

31 December 2003

Eight British tourists, five men and three women, were killed on their way to the Royal Natal National Park when their bus swerved to avoid a pedestrian on the R74 between Harrismith and Bergville and crashed.

31 December 1989

On 31 December 1989, ex-mutineers in exile considered resigning from the African National Congress (ANC). This came after the suppression of political and cultural renewal by the ANC and the banishment of nine members of the ANC

31 December 1959

Forced removals from Sophiatown had started in 1955 and by 1963 the demolition of the existing houses started.

30 December 1986

The American oil company Exxon became the first major international oil company to withdraw its investment from South Africa because of the country's Apartheid policy.

30 December 1969

The International Monetary Fund announces that it will agree to purchase gold from South Africa, subject to certain conditions.

30 December 1831

The Gramstown Journal, one of South Africa's important and influential early newspapers, ran from 1831- 1920. From its early days its editorial slant voiced the interests of English settlers in the Eastern Cape.

29 December 1980

In the Rand Supreme Court, Justice Coetzee, refused to lift the banning order on four Black newspapers

29 December 1978

Rev. Allan Hendrickse was elected leader of the Coloured Labour Party of South Africa at its thirteenth Congress in Bloemfontein.

29 December 1976

The Minister of Bantu Education M.C. Botha announced that the government moved towards the introduction of free and compulsory education for Black pupils.

28 December 1989

On 28 December 1989, a document officially banning nine members of the African National Congress (ANC) was circulated at Dakawa in Tanzania. The nine members were from different ANC communities in Dakawa.

28 December 1985

Political activist and civil rights campaigner widely respected by Blacks, Molly Blackburn, was killed in a car accident near Humansdorp, Eastern Cape.

28 December 1943

Politician and businessman Oscar Dhlomo was born at Putellos, Umbumbulu, Natal. Dhlomo served in the homeland government of Kwa-Zulu under the leadership of Mangosuthu Buthelezi as Minister of Education and Culture.

27 December, 1932

South Africa abandons the Gold Standard, sparking a period of economic expansion

27 December, 1919

Dr Joosub Ebrahim is born

27 December, 1838

Voortrekker commando is ambushed by the Zulu army in the Battle of the White Umfolozi

26 December, 1918

Prime Minister of Transkei George Matanzima is born

26 December, 1995

Paul Adams becomes SA's youngest Test Cricket player

26 December, 2004

Hundreds of thousands of people killed as tsunamis devastate large swathes of South and Southeast Asia, coming as far as South Africa

25 December, 1819

Struggle icon Makana drowns

25 December, 1992

Helen Joseph dies

25 December, 1995

Christmas Day Massacre

24 December 1989

Charles Taylor enters Liberia to unseat President Samuel K Doe.

24 December 1926

Richard Maponya is born in Lenyenye in the then Northern Transvaal (now Limpopo)

24 December 1651

The three ships, Drommedaris, Reijger and Goede Hoop, carrying Jan van Riebeeck and his party, leave Texel in the Netherlands on their way to the Cape.

23 December, 1960

Zinzi Mandela is born

23 December, 1962

Kwame Nkrumah orders release of political prisoners

23 December, 1932

SA experiences a monetary crisis due to the heavy drain of gold from the country during the Great Depression

22 December, 1993

SA signs diplomatic relations with Vietnam

22 December, 1973

Trade unionist, Barend Erasmus dies

22 December, 1953

Twenty-four Kikuyu tribesmen are sentenced to death for the Lari massacre in Kenya

21 December, 1976

Trial of nine BPC and SASO leaders ends

21 December, 1915

Miners strike at the Van Rhyn Deep mines

21 December, 1964

SA signs treaty with Great Britain on the supply of military equipment to South Africa

20 December, 1988

Amichand Rajbansi is fired from Parliament

20 December, 1991

CODESA 1 convenes in Johannesburg

20 December, 1965

Arthur Elias Letele, medical doctor and prominent ANC leader who went into exile in Basutoland, dies

19 December, 1992

SADF officers dismissed

19 December, 1982

ANC attacks Koeberg nuclear power station

19 December, 1997

Sugarboy Malinga wins the WBC title

18 December, 1946

Steve Biko, a pioneer of the Black Consciousness Movement, is born

18 December, 1887

SA painter Frederick Timpson I'Ons (85) dies

18 December, 1991

Buthelezi boycotts first session of CODESA

17 December, 1996

United Nations appoints Kofi Annan as secretary

17 December, 1949

ANC adopts the Programme of Action

17 December, 1903

First aeroplane flight takes place

16 December, 1913

Women's Memorial is unveiled in Bloemfontein

16 December, 1995

Pirates win the African Champions Cup

16 December, 1990

ANC Consultative Conference comes to an end

15 December, 1963

Walter Sisulu's appeal is dismissed

15 December, 1985

Six people are killed in an ANC landmine explosion

15 December, 1933

Donald James Wood journalist and Anti apartheid activists is born

14 December, 1912

Prime Minister Louis Botha resigns because of conflict with Hertzog

14 December, 1999

Clarence Mlokoti is shot dead by hijackers

14 December, 1972

The last Apollo Moon mission returns to Earth

13 December, 1941

Simon Petros Matseke, prominent in African social and political life, dies in Pretoria

13 December, 1988

The Trust Feed Massacre

13 December, 1990

Oliver Tambo returns from exile

12 December, 1984

UDF leaders are charged with treason

12 December, 1996

Organisations forward applicants for amnesty to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission

12 December, 2004

King Mswati III buys another luxury car

11 December 1986

Matthews Mapumolo, an ANC member, dies in police custody after he had been confronted at home in Swaziland by a group of armed men.

11 December 1963

The first of the 'Bantustans' or 'homelands' came into existence when the Minister of Bantu Administration and Development, De Wet Nel, opened the Transkei Legislative Assembly at Umtata. Chief Kaiser Matanzima was installed as Chief Minister.

11 December 1961

Albert Luthuli delivers his Nobel Lecture after receiving the Peace Prize the previous day. Luthuli was the first South African to receive the Nobel Prize for Peace.

10 December 1984

Archbishop Mpilo Desmond Tutu, world renowned preacher and strident voice against apartheid, first Black Secretary General of the South African Council of Churches, first Black Archbishop of the Anglican Church in South Africa, Archbishop Emeritus of Cape Town, and chair of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, is awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.

10 December 1961

Albert John Mvumbi Luthuli, president of the then banned African National Congress (ANC), was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1960 for advocating non-violent resistance to racial discrimination in South Africa.

10 December 1948

The UN adopts and proclaims the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. The day is recognised and celebrated as International Human Rights Day.

9 December, 1913

South African artist Gerard Sekoto is born

9 December, 1961

Tanzania gains independence

9 December, 1995

Francois Botha wins International Boxing Federation (IBF) title

8 December, 1991

Chris Hani is elected SACP Secretary

8 December, 1991

The South African Football Association (SAFA) is founded

8 December, 1993

Winnie Mandela is elected ANCWL president

7 December, 1941

Japanese attack American Naval Forces at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii

7 December, 1988

Mandela is moved to Victor Verster prison

7 December, 1978

The Erasmus Commission's report implicates Rhoodie, Mulder and van den Bergh in SA's infamous 'Information Scandal'

6 December, 1906

Self government is granted to the Transvaal

6 December, 1928

Clarence Mlami Makwetu is born

6 December, 1990

ANC stage marches in major cities

5 December, 1934

Italy invades Ethiopia

5 December, 1956

Police swoop down on the homes of Congress of the People leaders across the country, the arrests led to the Treason Trial

5 December, 1999

Ernie Els wins the Nedbank Golf Tournament

4 December, 1996

The Constitution of the Republic of South Africa is approved

4 December, 1981

Lesotho's Foreign Affairs Minister reveals details of agreement with Pik Botha

4 December, 1893

Allison Wessels George (Mhlongo) Champion is born

3 December, 1955

Bruce Fordyce is born

3 December, 1971

King Goodwill Zwelithini is installed

3 December, 1967

Dr Chris Barnard performs the world's first human heart transplant

2 December, 1998

Mandela and Tshwete go to Constitutional Court

2 December, 1961

Britain refuses Uganda's request for independence

2 December, 1949

International Day for the Abolition of Slavery

1 December, 1834

Slavery is abolished at the Cape

1 December, 1988

World Aids Day is internationally observed for the first time

1 December, 1986

Dr Ribeiro and his wife are gunned down

30 November, 1866

Dr Robert Broom, SA paleontologist who discovered the "Mrs Ples" skull, is born

30 November, 1954

D.F. Malan retires as Prime Minister

30 November, 2004

Patricia de Lille testifies at Schabir Shaik's trial

29 November, 1929

Pretoria branch of Transvaal University College becomes Pretoria University

29 November, 1980

P W Botha proposes a constellation of States

29 November, 1995

Desmond Tutu is appointed TRC chairperson

28 November, 1904

The first woman to be executed in South Africa

28 November, 1988

Rajbansi threatens not to co-operate with the James Commission

28 November, 2004

South Africa receives top honors from the International Rugby Board

27 November, 1984

Anti-Apartheid demonstration held outside the South African embassy in Washington, USA

27 November, 1997

UDF distances itself from Madikizela

27 November, 1986

Three Delmas trialist released

25 November, 1982

SA government fails to integrate KaNgwane into Swaziland

25 November, 1992

ANC Constitutional proposals are disclosed

25 November, 1957

Mining Magnate Oppenheimer dies

24 November, 1983

Carl Niehaus is sentenced to 15 years in prison for high treason having worked for the ANC underground

24 November, 1997

TRC gathers evidence against Winnie Madikizela-Mandela

24 November, 2005

South African President Thabo Mbeki hails Liberian President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf for making history by becoming Africa's first elected woman president in post-war elections

23 November, 1982

Lesotho and Swaziland threatened with sanctions

23 November, 1988

P. W. Botha grants reprieve to the "Sharpeville Six"

23 November, 2004

Tutu issues warning against BEE and Government policies

22 November, 1962

Violence erupts in Paarl

22 November, 1994

South Africa signs agreement with Switzerland to support the Reconstruction and Development Programme (RDP)

22 November, 1995

The First Draft of the Constitution is published

21 November, 1986

SA President P.W Botha meets with leaders of independent homelands

21 November, 1996

PW Botha refuses to testify before the TRC

21 November, 2004

Millions of Zim refugees cross into SA

20 November, 1964

Trial of South African Communist party members begins

20 November, 1988

UN passes resolutions on South Africa

20 November, 1923

SA author, Nadine Godimer, is born

18 November, 1988

The Big Three are convicted of treason

18 November, 1993

Multi-party delegates endorses the Interim constitution

18 November, 2004

African Statistics Day is observed

17 November, 1952

Cyril Ramaphosa is born

17 November, 1973

The Democratic Party is founded

17 November, 1994

Restitution of Land Rights Act is signed

16 November, 1855

David Livingstone reaches the Victoria Falls

16 November, 1973

Beyers Naude refuses to testify before the Schlebusch Commission

16 November, 1989

SA beaches are opened to all racial groups

15 November, 1938

Ronnie Kasrils is born

15 November, 1997

Bafana Bafana loses to Germany

15 November, 1931

Sculptor Lucas Sithole is born in KwaThema

14 November, 1994

Mk soldiers threaten armed struggle

14 November, 1998

New Afrikaner Political Party

14 November, 2005

Magnus Malan and Constand Viljoen deny knowledge of mass graves

13 November, 1998

Zimbabwe's Agriculture Minister Kumbirai Kangai issues orders for the seizure of 841 White-owned farms as part of the government's controversial programme to resettle thousands of Black peasant farmers.

13 November, 1980

Medical Association agrees to investigate Steve Biko's death

13 November, 1977

Bishop Desmond Tutu resigns as Bishop of Lesotho Anglican Church

12 November, 1996

A memorandum of understanding between RSA and Malaysia

12 November, 1980

Minister announces compulsory education for Black children

12 November, 1938

Steve Tshwete is born

11 November, 1993

Abolition of Internal Security Act

11 November, 1997

The Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) heard three days of testimony concerning the role of the business sector during the apartheid era

11 November, 1965

Rhodesian Prime Minister, Ian Smith, issues a Unilateral Declaration of Independence

10 November, 1989

Three White members of the African National Congress (ANC) are sentenced to long prison terms

10 November, 1991

The SA Cricket team is re-admitted to international cricket

10 November, 2005

Constructors make mass grave finding in Namibia

9 November 1927

Carel Boshoff, former chairman of the Afrikaner Broederbond, is born

9 November, 1993

Homeland leader Qqozo stands trial

9 November, 2004

Mbeki and his entourage arrive in Abidjan, Ivory Coast

8 November, 1922

Dr. Chris Barnard, medical practioner who performed the first heart transplant, is born

8 November, 1974

Penny Heyns, South African swimming star, is born.

8 November, 1989

Mandela meets PAC leader Jeff Masemola

7 November, 1917

Helen Suzman is born

7 November, 1990

National Party wins two-horse-race by-election in Randburg

7 November, 1994

Former MK members are dismissed from SANDF

6 November 1986

General Motors (GM), the American owned automobile industry in South Africa, pulled out of the country amidst a series of disputes and strikes from workers fearing for their future.

6 November 1964

Vuyisile Mini a trade unionist and Mkhonto we Sizwe (MK) activist was hanged for his role in the MK and anti-apartheid resistance. He was responsible for the organisation of metal workers at a time when the government had increased its repressive measures against Black trade unions

6 November 1913

On his journey to South Africa in 1893, Mohandas Gandhi had first -hand experience of the discrimination faced by people of colour. His response to this was the establishment of the Natal Indian Congress (NIC) in 1894. Within three years of his arrival in South Africa, Gandhi had become a political leader

5 November, 1991

The Congress Of South African Trade Unions (COSATU) called a two-day nation-wide strike to demonstrate their opposition to the government's intention to impose Value Added Tax (VAT) on basic foodstuffs, health care and essential services

5 November, 1984

Thelma Gutsche a South African scholar, historian and film critic dies in the Cape. Thelma Gutsche was born to Dr and Mrs J Gutsche in Somerset West in the Cape Province in 1915.

5 November, 1984

A stay-away by Black workers in the industrial areas of the Witwatersrand and the Vaal Triangle is called by Black unions and civic groups in protest over increases in rent and utility charges and over the unlawful arrests of Black leaders.

4 November, 1873

Battle of Bushman's Pass takes place

4 November, 1977

UN Security Council bans arms sales to South Africa

4 November, 1998

Anti-smoking legislation is passed

3 November, 1884

First Black-owned newspaper is published

3 November, 1964

South African pop queen, Brenda Fassie, is born

3 November, 2004

President Thabo Mbeki congratulates his US counterpart

2 November, 1930

Selassie becomes emperor

2 November, 1990

A South African spy is released from jail

2 November, 1995

Former Minister of Defence and others are charged with murder

1 November, 1936

Golfing legend Gary Player is born

1 November, 1972

Four Indian leaders are sentenced under Terrorism Act

1 November, 1995

ANC wins local elections

31 October, 1980

Draft laws are gazetted

31 October, 1996

Tutu threatens to quit TRC

31 October, 2006

Former South African Prime Minister, P.W Botha, dies

30 October, 1991

Date is set for constitutional talks

30 October, 1996

SA judge jails former state assassin Eugene de Kock for more than 200 years

30 October, 1998

Presidential Job Summit is held

29 August, 1795

The Reverend Abraham Faure is born

29 August, 1994

South Africa signs SADC treaty

29 August, 1976

Prime Minister Vorster in June 16 admission

28 October, 1985

State of Emergency enters 100th day

28 October, 1982

Beyers Naudé is served with his second banning order

28 October, 1961

Walter Sisulu and others are arrested for attending a party

27 October, 2004

COSATU delegates are left at Beitbridge

27 October, 1990

The ANC Youth League is re-established at Orlando stadium in Soweto

27 October, 1988

Salman Rushdie's visit is still on

26 October, 1998

F.W de Klerk challenges TRC findings

26 October, 1989

Transkei announces plans to unban ANC and PAC

26 October, 1976

Transkei gains complete independence

25 October, 1999

J.M. Coetzee wins the Booker Prize

25 October, 1993

South Africa is invited to rejoin Commonwealth of Nations

25 October, 1987

IFP declares attacks on UDF self defence

24 October, 1977

Report on Steve Biko's death

24 October, 1970

UN condemns the evil policy of apartheid

24 October, 1929

The New York Stock exchange collapse

23 October, 1984

SADF seals off Vaal townships

23 October, 1958

The apartheid government establishes a Department for Coloured Affairs' (CAD)

23 October, 1996

Mandela confirms the appointment of first Black Chief Justice

22 October, 1999

South African boxers win two world titles

22 October, 1941

Dr Ben Ngubane is born

22 October, 1922

Thomas Titus Nkobi is born

21 October, 2003

Vanessa Brereton, former human rights lawyer, admits that she was an Apartheid spy

21 October, 1982

Barbara Hogan sentenced for High Treason

21 October, 1899

The New Zealand Mounted Rifles leave Wellington for the South African War

20 October, 1999

Jackie Selebi is set to lead SAPS

20 October, 1995

Nuclear weapons allegations

20 October, 1820

Cape of Good Hope Royal Observatory is founded

19 October, 2005

The NPA does not pursue charges against Wouter Basson, former chemical weapons expert of the SADF

19 October, 1986

Samora Machel, president of Mozambique, dies in a plane crash

19 October, 1977

Apartheid Government declares 19 organisations unlawful

18 October, 1990

Nomsa Mapongwana is assassinated

18 October, 1966

Rand Afrikaans University is established

18 October, 1952

Violence erupts during Defiance Campaign

17 October, 1991

United Front launch in jeopardy

17 October, 1973

Egyptian and Israeli forces in fierce fights

17 October, 1945

Graça Machel is born

16 October, 1988

ANC agrees to facilitate SA rugby's return to international games

16 October, 1984

Archbishop Desmond Tutu is awarded the Nobel Peace Prize

16 October, 1952

Albert Luthuli is elected president

15 October, 1993

Waluz and Derby-Lewis are sentenced to death

15 October, 1990

SA Parliament repeals The Separate Amenities Act of 1953

15 October, 1989

Five ANC leaders are released from prison

14 October, 1997

Appearance of former ministers before the TRC

14 October, 1997

Renewal of land acquisition programme in Zimbabwe

14 October, 1983

Moses Mabhida receives awards

13 October, 1962

Helen Joseph is put under house arrest

13 October, 1913

Thambi Naidoo mobilises the Indians

13 October, 1867

Diamonds are discovered in South Africa

12 October, 1995

Local elections receive go- ahead

12 October, 1991

Nelson Mandela announces intentions on nationalisation policy

12 October, 1991

ANC's economic plans

11 October, 1996

Magnus Malan's trial ends

11 October, 1899

The second Anglo-Boer war, also known as the South African war, breaks out

11 October, 1886

Standard Bank becomes the first bank to opens its doors on the Witwatersrand

10 October, 1989

F.W. de Klerk announces the release of political prisoners

10 October, 1978

New Prime Minister P.W. Botha appoints cabinet ministers

10 October, 1975

Elizabeth Taylor remarries Richard Burton in Botswana

9 October 2004

6th Partnership Against AIDS anniversary is celebrated. The keynote address was presented by former Deputy President Jacob Zuma.

9 October 1985

A National Day of Prayer was peacefully observed, despite fears of violence between youth and security forces in Soweto and other major townships.

9 October 1963

The Rivonia Trialists are charged with sabotage and attempting to violently overthrow the state

8 October 1990

De Klerk and Mandela issues a statement regarding violence

8 October 1962

On 8 October 1962, Solomon Linda, the singer and composer of Mbube, which became the pop hit as 'The Lion Sleeps Tonight', died without receiving royalties for his work.

8 October 1934

Kadera Asmal, political activist, human rights lawyer, former Minister of Education (1999-2004) and of Water Affairs and Forestry (1994-1999); is born in Stanger, Natal (now Kwa-Dukuza).

7 October, 2001

US invasion of Afghanistan

7 October, 1991

Mourners are shot at Ntuli's funeral in Thokoza

7 October, 1931

Archbishop Mpilo Desmond Tutu, chairman of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, is born in Klerksdorp, Transvaal

6 October, 2005

Train commuters set trains on fire in Germiston

6 October, 1999

The SA Agricultural Union changes its name to Agri SA

6 October, 1994

SANDF soldiers strike

5 October, 1960

White SA citizens hold referendum to decide if SA should become a republic

5 October, 1990

Buthelezi snubs ANC and homeland leaders

5 October, 1975

Winnie Mandela speaks out against Terrorism Act

4 October, 1974

Oliver Kgadime Matsepe, Northern Sotho novelist and poet, dies

4 October, 1989

Lobbying against SA debt rescheduling unsuccessful

4 October, 1993

European Community lifts sanctions against SA

3 October, 1991

Nadine Gordimer wins Nobel Prize for Literature

3 October, 1973

Vorster supports changes to Black labour

3 October, 1935

WW2: Italy invades Ethiopia

2 October, 1869

Mahatma Gandhi, pioneer of the SA Passive Resistance movement and leader who led India to Independence is born

2 October, 2003

Writer J.M. Coetzee is awarded the 2003 Nobel Prize for Literature

2 October, 1991

Pik Botha visits Beijing to strengthen relations with China

30 September, 2004

A blaze destroys Wanderers

30 September, 1986

First Black US ambassador is sent to South Africa

30 September, 1975

Winnie Mandela released from banning order and house arrest

29 September, 2004

Evidence found at Barberton confirms theory of life on earth as early as about 3.4 billion years ago

29 September, 1998

SABC personality Nic Swanepoel dies

29 September, 1978

B.J Vorster steps down as Prime Minster

28 September, 1992

150 political prisoners including McBride and Nondula are released

28 September, 2003

Pope John Paul II appoints 31 cardinals, three from Africa

28 September, 1978

P.W. Botha becomes Prime Minister

27 September, 2005

Brett Kebble is shot dead

27 September, 1992

Buthelezi says Zulus would continue carrying cultural weapons

27 September, 1986

South African multi-title holder, Brian Mitchell wins the WBA title

26 September, 2004

Nelson Mandela is voted the greatest South African

26 September, 1934

Winnie Mandela is born

26 September, 1905

Albert Einstein publishes Special Theory of Relativity

25 September, 2004

Former anti-Apartheid activist Allan Boesak accuses ANC

25 September, 1977

Steve Biko, Black Consciousness Movement Leader, is buried

25 September, 1907

The railway line between Cape Town and George is opened.

24 September, 1996

Enoch Sontonga is honoured posthumously

24 September, 1990

Winnie Mandela charged with kidnapping

24 September, 1987

The Congress of Traditional Leaders of South Africa (Contralesa) is launched

21 September, 2004

International Day of Peace Vigil is observed

21 September, 1992

Mandela and de Klerk agree to restart talks

20 September, 1989

F.W. De Klerk is inaugurated

20 September, 1978

South African Prime Minister, John Vorster resigns

20 September, 1886

First mines are proclaimed in Johannesburg

19 September, 1988

The Progressive Teachers' Congress is secretly launched

19 September, 1983

Dr Yusuf Dadoo, socialist movement activist and politician, dies in exile

19 September, 1976

Ian Smith of Rhodesia and Henry Kissinger meet in Pretoria

18 September, 1999

South Africa win the most medals at the 7th All African Games

18 September, 1992

Mass funeral for the victims of Bisho massacre

18 September, 1961

UN Secretary General is killed in a plane crash

17 September, 1987

Religious leaders hold talks with the ANC

17 September, 1995

Pope John Paul II celebrates a papal mass in South Africa

17 September, 1999

Mbeki receives an Honorary Doctorate

16 September, 2004

President Mbeki opens the second sitting of PAP

16 September, 1996

Col Eugene de Kock testifies in Court

16 September, 1963

The UN Special Committee on Apartheid reports on SA

15 September, 2000

The Opening Ceremony of 2000 Olympic Games takes place

15 September, 1984

Botha appoints Hendrikse and Rajbansi into his Cabinet

15 September, 1914

De la Rey is shot dead

14 September, 2003

The Sunday Times political journalist is suspended

14 September, 1998

McBride is conditionally released from prison

14 September, 1988

The Pope arrives in Lesotho

13 September, 1997

Mother Teresa is buried

13 September, 1993

Yitzhak Rabin and Yasser Arafat, shake hands after concluding the Declaration of Principles for Peace between Palestinian Arabs and Israelis

13 September, 1942

Charles Nqakula , Minister of Safety and Security and Chairperson of the SACP, is born

12 September, 1977

Steve Biko dies in detention

12 September, 1988

Presidents of Mozambique and South Africa meet

11 September, 1996

Mining agreement on wages and working conditions is signed

11 September, 1950

General J.C. Smuts (80), former prime minister of SA, dies

11 September, 1906

Indian campaigner, Mohandas Gandhi leads Satyagraha Passive Resistance Campaign

10 September, 1984

Detention orders issued to 7 UDF members

10 September, 1921

Newspaper editor John Tengo Jabavu dies

10 September, 1938

Springboks lose to the Lions

7 September, 2004

AZAPO, SOPA, and BPC announce a merger agreement

7 September, 2004

South Africa mourns the passing of Beyers Naudé, apartheid struggle stalwart and Afrikaner cleric

7 September, 1986

Cleric and anti-apartheid activist, Mpilo Desmond Tutu is ordained as Archbishop of Cape Town

6 September, 2000

United Nations World Summit starts

6 September, 1966

SA Prime Minister H. F. Verwoerd stabbed to death

6 September, 1939

SA joins World War II

5 September, 2006

Putin visits South Africa

5 September, 1984

P.W. Botha becomes SA's first Executive President

5 September, 1909

Yusuf Dadoo, political activist, is born

4 September 1994

Bafana Bafana beats Madagascar in the African Cup of Nations Qualifying Group 5 match

4 September 1984

The Deputy Mayor of Sharpeville, Sam Dlamini was hacked to death by a mob of youth, and doused in petrol and burned. The riots were in protest against rent increases and poor education facilities.

4 September 1887

Christoffel Coetzee de Villiers (37), compiler of South African genealogical registers, dies

3 September 1984

Members of Parliament convened in Cape Town to promulgate a new South African constitution with a three tier parliament.

3 September 1984

Boipatong, Bophelong, Evaton, Sebokeng and Sharpeville, five Black townships in the area known as the Vaal Triangle explodes into what some have described as a 'smouldering human rage'.

3 September 1905

Johannes Nkosi, martyr for the Communist Party of South Africa, is born.

25 August, 1980

Zimbabwe becomes a member of the United Nations (UN)

25 August, 1971

Chief Mangosuthu Buthelezi calls for National Convention

24 August, 1993

The African National Congress is found guilty

24 August, 1990

State of emergency declared in 27 townships

24 August, 1958

Former South African Prime Minister Strijdom dies