Daniel Francois Malherbe, SA novelist, poet and dramatist, is born

On 28 May 1881, Daniel Francois Malherbe was born in Dal Josafat, Paarl, in the Western Cape (then Cape Colony). Malherbe was a novelist, poet and dramatist who helped to establish Afrikaans as a cultural language in South Africa. Malherbe published several volumes of poetry and drama, but he is best known for his novels. These include Vergeet Nil (1913; "Don't Forget"), Die Meulenaar (1936; "The Miller"), Saul (1933-37) a biblical trilogy and En die Wawiele Rol (1945; "And the Wagon Wheels Roll On") a story describing the Great Trek. Malherbe was also a professor of literature at the University of Bloemfontein from 1922- 42. He died on 12 April 1969 in Bloemfontein.