This week in History
Extra Dates:
13 - 19 March
13 March 1701 - Khoisan loot more than forty cattle from Cape Settlers. (Wallis, F. (2000). Nuusdagboek: feite en fratse oor 1000 jaar, Kaapstad: Human & Rousseau.)
13 March 1888 - De Beers Consolidated Mines Ltd is founded to exercise control over virtually all of the diamond production in South Africa. (Wallis, F. (2000). Nuusdagboek: feite en fratse oor 1000 jaar, Kaapstad: Human & Rousseau; Potgieter, D.J. et al. (eds)(1970). Standard Encyclopaedia of Southern Africa, Cape Town: NASOU, v.3, p. 585.)
13 March 1889 - The Potchefstroom treaty between the South African Republic and the Orange Free State, binding each state to assist the other whenever either is unjustly attacked, is signed by President Paul Kruger and President F.T. Reitz. (The Star. 13th March 2003. Milestones).
13 March 1900 - Anglo-Boer War 2: British forces under Lord Roberts take Bloemfontein. (Burne: Chronicle of the World; Cloete, P.G. (2000). The Anglo-Boer War: a chronology, Pretoria: Lapa.)
13 March 1900 - Anglo-Boer War 2: A Republican delegation consisting of A. Fischer, A.D.W. Wolmarans, C.H. Wessels with J.M. de Bruin as secretary, embarks at Lourenço Marques for Europe, seeking international intervention or aid. (Cloete, P.G. (2000). The Anglo-Boer War: a chronology, Pretoria: Lapa.
13 March 1903 - Gen. David Johannes (Ou Kat) Joubert, South African explorer to East Africa, dies of malaria near Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. (Wallis, F. (2000). Nuusdagboek: feite en fratse oor 1000 jaar, Kaapstad: Human & Rousseau.)
13 March 1911 - Henning J. Klopper, Speaker of the Volksraad at the time of South Africa becoming a Republic, joins the Railways. He is later appointed as Assistant Superintendent: Operations. (Wallis, F. (2000). Nuusdagboek: feite en fratse oor 1000 jaar, Kaapstad: Human & Rousseau.)
13 March 1926 - First commercial air route is established when Alan Cobham does a return flight between London and Cape Town. (Wallis, F. (2000). Nuusdagboek: feite en fratse oor 1000 jaar, Kaapstad: Human & Rousseau.)
13 March 1933 - Dr Robert T. A. Innes (71), astronomer and secretary-accountant at the Cape observatory, dies in London. (Wallis, F. (2000). Nuusdagboek: feite en fratse oor 1000 jaar, Kaapstad: Human & Rousseau.)
13 March 1933 - Solomon K. Sedibane, S.A sculptor, is born in Sekhukhuneland, Transvaal. (Source unknown.)
13 March 1943 - P.W. Botha, later state president of SA, marries Elize Rossouw in Swellendam. (Wallis, F. (2000). Nuusdagboek: feite en fratse oor 1000 jaar, Kaapstad: Human & Rousseau.)
13 March 1948 - Dr K. Goonam leads a batch of twelve Passive Resisters across the Natal-Transvaal border.
13 March 1955 - Benjamin Jennings (Ben) Caddy, militant trade unionist who was arrested in the 1922 strike and who is regarded as the doyen of the trade union movement in SA, dies in Johannesburg. He was born in November 1881 in Australia and came to SA in 1898. (Verwey, E.J. (ed)(1995). New Dictionary of South African Biography, v.1, Pretoria: HSRC.)
13 March 1957 - Nicolaas Christiaan (Klasie) Havenga (74), private secretary of Gen. J.B.M. Hertzog, MP for Fauresmith and Ladybrand, and twice minister of finance, dies in Cape Town. (Wallis, F. (2000). Nuusdagboek: feite en fratse oor 1000 jaar, Kaapstad: Human & Rousseau; Potgieter, D.J. et al. (eds)(1970). Standard Encyclopaedia of Southern Africa, Cape Town: NASOU, v. 5, p. 450.)
13 March 1967 - The SAA Rietbok crashes into the sea at Kayser’s Beach near East London, with the loss of twenty-five lives. (Potgieter, D.J. et al. (eds)(1970). Standard Encyclopaedia of Southern Africa, Cape Town: NASOU, v. 1, p. 256; The Star. 13th March 2003. Milestones).13 March 1978 - The first public rally of the new South African Black Alliance (SABA) is held under the leadership of Chief Gatsha Buthelezi in Cape Town. Its main objective is to convene a National Convention of representatives of all population groups to seek a peaceful, negotiated solution to the country’s problems.
13 March 1980 - Lillian Ngoyi, well-known women’s activist dies.
13 March 1980 - The former Prime Minister and President, John Vorster, re-emerges into public life with a speech in Bloemfontein in which he questions P.W. Botha’s policy initiatives and backs the hard-line taken by Dr. Treurnicht. Separate development, he says, is the salvation of South Africa.
13 March 1988 - Church services are held countrywide to warn the government to desist from its confrontational road.
13 March 1989 - Business Day reports that Justice T. Spoelstra has sentenced four strikers to death four times each on charges of murder of non-striking workers during the 1987 railways strike. Four others were given prison sentences ranging from five to twelve years and eight other strikers received suspended sentences on charges of culpable homicide, intimidation assault and kidnapping of non-strikers. (South African Institute of Race Relations. (1989). Race Relations Survey 1988/89, Johannesburg: South African Institute of Race Relations, p. 466).
13 March 1990 - Frank Moema, reverend and community leader, disappears after allegedly being abducted by men in camouflage gear. Coleman, M. (ed)(1998). A Crime Against Humanity: analysing the repression of the apartheid state, Johannesburg: Human Rights Committee, p. 261).
13 March 1992 - South Africa signs treaties with Swaziland on the establishment and functioning of the joint Water Commission and the development and utilization of the water resources of the Komati River Basin.
13 March 1994 - TEC, SA to take over in Bop A joint Transitional Executive Council (TEC) and South African government delegation flew into Bophuthatswana last night to begin taking control of the homeland. This followed … President Lucas Mangope's refusal to give Independent Electoral Commission head Justice Johann Kriegler satisfactory assurances that he would allow free and fair elections in the territory. Sunday Times, Sunday 13 March 1994 http://www.southafrica.info/10years/tenyearsago2.htm
13 March 1996 - Finance Minister Liebenberg presents the 1996-97 Budget, reports continuing economic growth and underlines his aim of building on the government’s reputation for fiscal discipline.
13 March 2001 - Mr. Tony Leon, Leader of the Democratic Alliance speculates on the declaration of an AIDS-related national emergency from the Department of Health and the Presidency.
13 March 2002 - The Angolan government announces a unilateral ceasefire in its 27-year civil war against Unita, to begin the next day. (The Star. 13th March 2003. Milestones).
13 March 2004 - Struggle hero Dullah Omar and SA transport minister dies in the Constantiaberg Medi-Clinic in the Western Cape.
http://www.sabcnews.co.za/south_africa/general/0,2172,75757,00.html
13 March 2005 - SA golf player and world number three, Ernie Els, scores his second victory in seven days after his third Dubai Desert Classic success the previous weekend. http://www.sabcnews.co.za/sport/other/0,2172,99890,00.html
14 March 1878 - Dr Alexander Logie du Toit, SA geologist, is born in Cape Town. (Wallis, F. (2000). Nuusdagboek: feite en fratse oor 1000 jaar, Kaapstad: Human & Rousseau.)
14 March 1895 - The still existing Hollandse Mannekoor (Dutch men’s choir) is founded in Pretoria. (Wallis, F. (2000). Nuusdagboek: feite en fratse oor 1000 jaar, Kaapstad: Human & Rousseau.)
14 March 1897 - Gerard Jacob Theodoor Beelaerts van Blokland (54), co-founder of the Nederlandsch Zuid-Afrikaansche Vereeniging, dies. (Wallis, F. (2000). Nuusdagboek: feite en fratse oor 1000 jaar, Kaapstad: Human & Rousseau.)
14 March 1898 - Woolf Joel (34), nephew of Barney Barnato, is shot and killed by Baron Von Veltheim because he refuses to assist in kidnapping Pres. Paul Kruger. (Wallis, F. (2000). Nuusdagboek: feite en fratse oor 1000 jaar, Kaapstad: Human & Rousseau.)
14 March 1922 - Percy Fisher, miner and unionist born in 1891 in Durham, England, is found dead inside Central Hall of Fordsburg with a bullet wound. It was never determined whether he committed suicide or had been fatally wounded during the fighting. He was regarded as the main leader of the 1922 miners’ strike and had close links with the International Socialist League, predecessor of the Communist Party of SA. (Verwey, E.J. (ed)(1995). New Dictionary of South African Biography, v.1, Pretoria: HSRC.)
14 March 1923 - Samuel Maharero, who succeeded his father Maharero as chief of the Herero, dies in exile in Serowe, Bechuanaland. His misadministration was one of the causes of the Herero revolt (1904-1907). (Potgieter, D.J. et al. (eds)(1970). Standard Encyclopaedia of Southern Africa, Cape Town: NASOU, v. 7, p. 116).
14 March 1953 - Sir Robert N. Kotze (82), SA mining engineer who did much for the promotion of safety in mines and who was mainly responsible for the drafting of the Mines and Works Act (1911), the basis of modern South African mining law, dies in Cape Town. (Wallis, F. (2000). Nuusdagboek: feite en fratse oor 1000 jaar, Kaapstad: Human & Rousseau; SESA, v. 6, p.450).
14 March 1961 - The New English Bible is published. (Wallis, F. (2000). Nuusdagboek: feite en fratse oor 1000 jaar, Kaapstad: Human & Rousseau.)
14 March 1963 - The Publications and Entertainment Bill, which has been before a select Committee for nearly two years, passes its third reading in the House of Assembly by 60 votes to 40. The Minister of Interior is to appoint a Publications Control Board to control importation, distribution, exhibition, sale or possession of any publications deemed ‘undesirable'. (Kalley, J.A.; Schoeman, E. & Andor, L.E. (eds)(1999). Southern African Political History: a chronology of key political events from independence to mid-1997, Westport: Greenwood.)
14 March 1966 - The Red Cross of SA institutes its emergency rescue unit. (SABC news Bulletin).
14 March 1966 - Tertius Bosch, SA cricket player in one test match against the West Indies (1991-1992), is born in Vereeniging. (Wallis; Nuusdagboek).
14 March 1968 - The United Nations Security Council censures South Africa for its flagrant defiance of Council Resolution 245 (1968) calling for the freeing of the dependents in the South West Africa ‘Terrorism' trial and demands that South Africa release and repatriate them. (Kalley, J.A.; Schoeman, E. & Andor, L.E. (eds)(1999). Southern African Political History: a chronology of key political events from independence to mid-1997, Westport: Greenwood.)
14 March 1971 - Ephraim Mojalefa (Kid) Ngatane, artist, teacher, musician and boxer, dies of tuberculosis at the Barangwanath Hospital, Soweto. (Sonderling, N.E. (ed.) New Dictionary of South African Biography, v. 2).
14 March 1973 - The Supreme Council for Sports in Africa (SCSA) asks the national Olympic committees of Belgium, Great Britain, Japan, the Netherlands and West Germany, to do everything in their power to prevent members of their respective countries from participating in the Pretoria Games from 23 March to 7 April 1973.
14 March 1974 - The largest concentration of national monuments in the country, the thirty-two restored buildings which had been damaged in the 1969 earthquake in Church Street, Tulbach, are inaugurated by the Prime Minister, B.J. Vorster (Potgieter, D.J. et al. (eds)(1970). Standard Encyclopaedia of Southern Africa, Cape Town: NASOU, v.10, p. 655.)
14 March 1974 - Chief Matanzima calls upon the South African government to grant full independence to the Transkei within five years. The prime minister states that he is prepared to negotiate.
14 March 1974 - Mark Fish, SA football player, is born. (Wallis, F. (2000). Nuusdagboek: feite en fratse oor 1000 jaar, Kaapstad: Human & Rousseau.)
14 March 1976 - Egypt's President Anwar Sadat asks Parliament to cancel treaty with Soviet Union, charging that Moscow failed to provide arms that had been promised. http://www.news24.co.za
14 March 1979 - On his return from Paris, General Hendrik van den Bergh has his own passport impounded on orders from the minister of the interior, and the prime minister makes it clear that the general had no government authority to negotiate with Dr. Rhoodie.
14 March 1982 - A bomb explosion damages the London office of the ANC. (Wallis, F. (2000). Nuusdagboek: feite en fratse oor 1000 jaar, Kaapstad: Human & Rousseau
14 March 1982 - In a radio and television interview, Prime Minister P.W. Botha, sets out the principles on which he is leading the government towards a new Constitutional dispensation.
14 March 1984 - The nuclear power station at Koeberg becomes operational. (Kalley, J.A.; Schoeman, E. & Andor, L.E. (eds)(1999). Southern African Political History: a chronology of key political events from independence to mid-1997, Westport: Greenwood.)
14 March 1999 - In response to a question in Parliament Dr Van Niekerk, minister of health, says that thirty-seven cases of AIDS have been diagnosed in SA in 1987. (South African Institute of Race Relations. (1989). Race Relations Survey 1988/89, Johannesburg: South African Institute of Race Relations, pp. 11 & 24).
14 March 1989 - Dr Fred du Plessis, chairman of Sanlam, is killed in a motor accident in the Western Cape. (Wallis, F. (2000). Nuusdagboek: feite en fratse oor 1000 jaar, Kaapstad: Human & Rousseau.)
14 March 1990 - In an exclusive interview with "The Herald", the ANC military commander Joe Modise, states that the organisation could consider the suspension of the armed struggle but not the laying down of arms, to facilitate negotiations.
14 March 1990 - President Mangope extends the state of emergency, declared in four districts on 7 March, to the whole Bophuthatswana homeland. (South African Institute of Race Relations. (1990). Race Relations Survey 1989/90, Johannesburg: South African Institute of Race Relations, p. 481).
14 March 1991 - Ten ANC supporters are killed in Gamalakhe, Natal, in an attack on a gathering. (Coleman, M. (ed)(1998). A Crime Against Humanity: analysing the repression of the apartheid state, Johannesburg: Human Rights Committee, p. 268.)
14 March 1997 - Protests by thousands of farmers around the country against land reform legislation and loss of tax rebates, and against the government’s failure to solve the high number of farm murders end peacefully with the handing over of memorandums on the subjects. The South African Agricultural Union supports the protests.
14 March 1997 - While rebels advance rapidly in eastern Zaire, President Mobutu Sese Seko enters a Monaco hospital for complications from earlier surgery. http://www.news24.co.za
14 March 1999 - Graham Armitage (63), SA actor and radio and TV personality, dies. (Wallis, F. (2000). Nuusdagboek: feite en fratse oor 1000 jaar, Kaapstad: Human & Rousseau.)
14 March 2001 - Yoweri Museveni is re-elected as Uganda's president. http://www.news24.co.za
14 March 2005 - News 24 reports that South Africa's ambitious HIV/Aids treatment plan is lagging as the government struggles to plug a shortage of doctors and pharmacists and other professionals needed to battle the world's biggest HIV/Aids caseload.
For the second year in a row, the government has missed its target of providing free antiretroviral (ARV) drugs to 53 000 South Africans by March even though President Thabo Mbeki has described the programme as "the best in the world". http://www.news24.co.za
14 March 2005 - Between 30% and 45% of all agricultural workers are infected with HIV/Aids, Gretha Kostwinder, the agricultural attaché of the Royal Netherlands Embassy says at a national agricultural conference in Pretoria, adding that this will have a huge impact on the sector in the next few years. http://www.sabcnews.co.za
14 March 2005 - A prison warder, Jacques Horne, 31, on escort duty is shot dead and another injured in an attack by gunmen at Cape Town's Groote Schuur Hospital to free a prisoner, apparently a member of a group of in-transit heist robbers that is allegedly led by Given Raymond Peete. The men sped to Woodstock in a silver grey Toyota Corolla after which they dumped the car and hijacked a family from Port Elizabeth's car. http://www.news24.co.za
14 March 2005 - The Gauteng Academy of Sport, in conjunction with the universities of Johannesburg, Pretoria and the Witwatersrand and Vaal University of Technology, launches a bursary support programme for high performing athletes in the province. The academy is up and running and fifty athletes from previously disadvantaged communities are already enjoying the benefits. http://www.news24.co.za
14 March 2006 - United Nations secretary-general Kofi Annan addresses parliament in Cape Town. He urges African leaders to improve conditions in Africa, as wrongs of the past do not absolve them from their own responsibility to themselves or their children. ((2006). Annan urges Africa to take charge, Sowetan. 15 March.)
15 March 1771 - Sir Joseph Banks, zoologist and botanist, describes the Kompanjiestuin and small zoo at the Cape in his diary. (Wallis, F. (2000). Nuusdagboek: feite en fratse oor 1000 jaar, Kaapstad: Human & Rousseau.)
15 March 1810 - Stephanus Schoeman, colourful figure in Transvaal history and commander-in-chief of the Zuid-Afrikaansche Republiek, is born near Oudtshoorn. (Wallis, F. (2000). Nuusdagboek: feite en fratse oor 1000 jaar, Kaapstad: Human & Rousseau.)
15 March 1827 - Jan Stephanus de Villiers, organist and first South African composer of importance, is born in Paarl. (Wallis, F. (2000). Nuusdagboek: feite en fratse oor 1000 jaar, Kaapstad: Human & Rousseau; Swart, M.J., et al. (eds)(1980). Afrikaanse Kultuuralmanak, Aucklandpark: Federasie van Afrikaanse Kultuurvereniginge.)
15 March 1840 - The Church of the Vow in Pietermaritzburg is consecrated and Erasmus Smit is inducted as its first minister.
15 March 1841 - John X Merriman, future prime minister of the Cape Colony, is born in Somerset, England. (Potgieter, D.J. et al. (eds)(1970). Standard Encyclopaedia of Southern Africa, Cape Town: NASOU, v. 7, p. 339).
15 March 1844 - De Natalier, Natal's first newspaper, appears on this day. http://www.news24.co.za
15 March 1849 - Diocesan College School (also known as Bishop’s) is founded by Bishop Robert Gray in Rondebosch, Cape Town, with six learners. (Wallis, F. (2000). Nuusdagboek: feite en fratse oor 1000 jaar, Kaapstad: Human & Rousseau.)
15 March 1874 - Willem Postma (Dr O’Kullis), writer, teacher and minister of the Reformed Church, is born in Burgersdorp, CC. (Wallis, F. (2000). Nuusdagboek: feite en fratse oor 1000 jaar, Kaapstad: Human & Rousseau.)
15 March 1881 - Josephus Johannes Kuhn, versifier of the first Afrikaans Psalms, is born. (Wallis, F. (2000). Nuusdagboek: feite en fratse oor 1000 jaar, Kaapstad: Human & Rousseau.)
15 March 1887 - P.J. van der Merwe, writer of the book “Ons halfeeu in Angola 1880-1928” is born on the farm Die Hoek near Humpata, Angola. (Strydom, C.J. Scheepers (comp.) Afrikaners in die vreemde, Kaapstad: Tafelberg.)
15 March 1894 - France and Germany agree on boundaries between French Congo and Cameroons. http://www.news24.co.za
15 March 1900 - Anglo-Boer War 2: Lord Salisbury, British premier, rejects the offer of Pres. McKinley of America to act as mediator in the war. (Wallis, F. (2000). Nuusdagboek: feite en fratse oor 1000 jaar, Kaapstad: Human & Rousseau.)
15 March 1900 - Anglo-Boer War 2: Lord Roberts issues his first proclamation, offering amnesty to burghers, except for the leaders. (Cloete, P.G. (2000). The Anglo-Boer War: a chronology, Pretoria: Lapa.)
15 March 1903 - British conquest of northern Nigeria is complete. http://www.news24.co.za
15 March 1905 - Lord Selborne (William Waldegrave Palmer, 2nd Earl of Selbourne) is appointed High Commissioner for South Africa in succession to Lord Milner. He assumed duty in April 1905. (Potgieter, D.J. et al. (eds)(1970). Standard Encyclopaedia of Southern Africa, Cape Town: NASOU, v. 9, p. 578). http://www.news24.co.za
15 March 1905 - Lord Alfred Milner lays the foundation stone of the Presbyterian Church St. Andrew in Germiston. (Wallis, F. (2000). Nuusdagboek: feite en fratse oor 1000 jaar, Kaapstad: Human & Rousseau.)
15 March 1922 - The artillery bombards the strikers' stronghold at Fordsburg Square during the Rand Revolt and it falls to the government. Before presumably committing suicide in this building, the two communist leaders, Fisher and Spendiff, left a joint note: 'We died for what we believed in - the Cause'. (Wallis, F. (2000). Nuusdagboek: feite en fratse oor 1000 jaar, Kaapstad: Human & Rousseau;
15 March 1922 - Samuel Alfred (Taffy) Long, heralded by subsequent labour histories as one of SA’s greatest working-class martyrs, is arrested after the defeat of Fordsburg (Rand Revolt). He is charged with murder and later also with high treason and the possession of loot. (Verwey, E.J. (ed)(1995). New Dictionary of South African Biography, v.1, Pretoria: HSRC.)
15 March 1946 - The Asiatic Land Tenure and Indian Representation Bill is introduced in House of Assembly. The Bill prohibits Indians to buy any more land in White areas and gives Indians their own representatives in the Senate, House of Assembly and Natal Provincial Council. It was passed in June, 1946. (Muller, C.F.J. (ed)(1981). Five Hundred years: a history of South Africa; 3rd rev. ed., Pretoria: Academica, p. 459.)
15 March 1948 - The South African Indian Organisation is formed at a conference in Durban.
15 March 1961 - Following strong opposition in the Conference of Commonwealth Prime Ministers, Dr. Verwoerd announces the withdrawal of South Africa from the Commonwealth "in the interests of South Africa's honour and dignity". (Potgieter, D.J. et al. (eds)(1970). Standard Encyclopaedia of Southern Africa, Cape Town: NASOU, v. 3, p. 357.)
15 March 1962 - Deon Opperman, South African dramatist, is born. (Wallis, F. (2000). Nuusdagboek: feite en fratse oor 1000 jaar, Kaapstad: Human & Rousseau.)
15 March 1963 - The Defence Minister, J.J. Fouché, gives the Senate details of South Africa's defence programme and replies to statements made by Harold Wilson on the British Labour Party's attitude to arms supplies to South Africa. (Kalley, J.A.; Schoeman, E. & Andor, L.E. (eds)(1999). Southern African Political History: a chronology of key political events from independence to mid-1997, Westport: Greenwood.)
15 March 1965 - The prolonged hearing of the dispute over the constitutional position of South West Africa is resumed by the International Court of Justice at The Hague. Extensive evidence is led on behalf of South Africa.
15 March 1973 - The astronomical observatory at Sutherland in the Karoo is opened. (Wallis, F. (2000). Nuusdagboek: feite en fratse oor 1000 jaar, Kaapstad: Human & Rousseau.)
15 March 1974 - The creation of a community of separate and sovereign states is laid down as the official policy of the National Party in its election manifesto. Simultaneously it rejects absolutely a federal system.
15 March 1974 - Two Bills conferring wide new security powers on the government are passed by Parliament. The Affected Organisations Act is intended to prevent such organisations from receiving financial support from overseas sources to achieve political objectives in South Africa. The Riotous Assemblies Amendment Act empowers the authorities to prohibit any public or private gathering of more than one person, whether lawful or unlawful, if it is thought to pose a threat to law and order. Both Acts are strongly opposed by the United Party and the Progressive Party.
15 March 1974 - Percy Montgomery, Springbok rugby player of the Western Province, is born. (Wallis, F. (2000). Nuusdagboek: feite en fratse oor 1000 jaar, Kaapstad: Human & Rousseau.)
15 March 1978 - A Durban magistrate rules that no one is to blame for the death of a young Indian dentist, Dr. Hoosen Haffejee, who died in police custody in August 1977. It is found that he committed suicide.
15 March 1979 - Four people, believed to be members of the ANC, are arrested in Gaborone, Botswana, and charged with the illegal possession of explosives and firearms. They receive sentences of from two to four-and-a-half years imprisonment.
15 March 1979 - Dr. Rhoodie reiterates that he possesses documentary evidence of secret projects involving the transfer of funds to major political figures in several Western countries. He denies being guilty of any criminal offence.
15 March 1980 - The Prime Minister states that those who disagree with the government’s 12-point strategy, accepted by all four National Party Provincial Congresses in 1979, and unanimously endorsed by the Cabinet, do not belong within the National Party. (Kalley, J.A.; Schoeman, E. & Andor, L.E. (eds)(1999). Southern African Political History: a chronology of key political events from independence to mid-1997, Westport: Greenwood.)
15 March 1982 - Evidence of the government’s complicity in the abortive coup plot against the Seychelles’ Socialist government, is taken in camera. (Kalley, J.A.; Schoeman, E. & Andor, L.E. (eds)(1999). Southern African Political History: a chronology of key political events from independence to mid-1997, Westport: Greenwood.)
15 March 1985 - SAAN announces its decision to close the Rand Daily Mail at the end of April. http://fxi.org.za/archives/detentio.txt
15 March 1988 - Internal Security Amendment Act No 2, amending the 1979 Internal Security Act (RRS 1988/89: 58), commences.
15 March 1988 - Angola releases the bodies of two SA Defence Force commandos killed in a raid on Cabinda oil depots in 1985, and the SADF repatriates twelve captured MPLA soldiers. http://www.news24.co.za
15 March 1988 - Business Day reports that in the wake of a decision by the Student Representative Council (SRC) of the University of Pretoria not to grant the AWB formal status as a youth organisation on the campus, AWB youth members will continue with their activities and meet in residence rooms, according to the press secretary of the movement, P.W. Bingle. (South African Institute of Race Relations. (1989). Race Relations Survey 1988/89, Johannesburg: South African Institute of Race Relations, p. 303).
15 March 1990 - Major cabinet portfolio changes are made to co-ordinate economic policy and constitutional negotiations. (Kalley, J.A.; Schoeman, E. & Andor, L.E. (eds)(1999). Southern African Political History: a chronology of key political events from independence to mid-1997, Westport: Greenwood.)
15 March 1994 - African National Congress president Nelson Mandela addresses a freedom rally in Mmabatho, Bophuthatswana, a week after the nominally independent territory was brought to a standstill by striking broadcast workers and civil servants. Thousands flock to be welcomed back into South Africa. http://www.news24.co.za
15 March 1996 - The first provisional constitution is unanimously adopted by the KwaZulu-Natal legislature. (Kalley, J.A.; Schoeman, E. & Andor, L.E. (eds)(1999). Southern African Political History: a chronology of key political events from independence to mid-1997, Westport: Greenwood.)
15 March 1997 - Zairian rebels take control of Kisangani, the last government stronghold in the east and Zaire's third largest city.
15 March 2001 – The national department of transport launches the seven month Be Legal campaign at the Jack Mincer Taxi Rank in Johannesburg, aiming to improve and legalise the taxi industry. (Burger, D. (ed)(2002). South Africa Yearbook 2001/02, Pretoria: GCIS, p. 561).
15 March 2003 - Rebels led by ousted army chief General Francois Bozize capture the Central African Republic's capital, Bangui, and the international airport while President Ange-Felix Patasse is out of the country. Bozize declares himself president.
http://www.news24.co.za
15 March 2004 - Awards for Consumer Champions. http://www.nyc.gov.za/calendar/calendar_of_events.htm
15 March 2005 - News 24 reports that four top SANDF commanders are being investigated for sexual charges in the DRC by either the United Nations or the SANDF. A South African National Defence Force battalion commander, who was allegedly involved in sexual misconduct while stationed in the Democratic Republic of Congo, will probably be returned to South Africa. The alleged misconduct includes drunkenness and fighting in Congolese nightclubs, promoting prostitution and sexual assault. http://www.news24.co.za
16 March 1561 - The Jesuit, Gonçalo da Silveira, first missionary in Southern Africa and first martyr of the Christian faith, is murdered in the interior. He began his mission work at Sofala (Mozambique). (Potgieter, D.J. et al. (eds)(1970). Standard Encyclopaedia of Southern Africa, Cape Town: NASOU, v. 7, p. 462).
16 March 1657 - Jan Wouters is found guilty in court in the Cape for "blasphemous libels on Cape ladies" and is sentenced to beg their pardon on his knees, to have his tongue "bored through", to forfeit his wages, and to be banished for three years. http://www.news24.com/News24/On_this_day/0,,2-1492_1495421,00.html
16 March 1713 - 25% of the White population in the Cape die of smallpox. Hardest hit are the indigenous Khoisan people. (Wallis, F. (2000). Nuusdagboek: feite en fratse oor 1000 jaar, Kaapstad: Human & Rousseau.)
http://www.sahistory.org.za/pages/chronology/thisday/1713-02-13.htm
16 March 1717 - Ernst Frederik de Swart opens the first coffee house in the Cape when permission is granted to him to serve refreshments to passengers on ships in his house. (Wallis, F. (2000). Nuusdagboek: feite en fratse oor 1000 jaar, Kaapstad: Human & Rousseau.)
16 March 1852 - Hendrik Potgieter and Andries Pretorius are reconciled at a meeting of the Volksraad in Rustenburg. (Wallis, F. (2000). Nuusdagboek: feite en fratse oor 1000 jaar, Kaapstad: Human & Rousseau.)
16 March 1856 - Eugene Louis Jean Joseph Napoleon, the Prince Imperial of France is born in Paris, France. He was killed in Zululand in the Anglo-Zulu War in 1879. (Kruger, D.W. (ed)(1972). Dictionary of South African Biography, Cape Town: Human Sciences Research Council, v. 3, p. 650).
16 March 1869 - Sen. William (Willie) Angus Hofmeyr, businessman and cultural leader, is born in Montagu, CC. (Wallis, F. (2000). Nuusdagboek: feite en fratse oor 1000 jaar, Kaapstad: Human & Rousseau.)
16 March 1871 - Dr Hans Merensky, discoverer of tin near Pretoria, platinum near Lydenburg, diamonds at Alexander Bay, chromium at Pietersburg and phosphate at Phalaborwa, is born at Botshabelo, near Middelburg, eastern Transvaal. (Wallis, F. (2000). Nuusdagboek: feite en fratse oor 1000 jaar, Kaapstad: Human & Rousseau.)
16 March 1892 - James Sebe Moroka, medical doctor, landowner and politician who was elected president-general of the ANC in 1949, is born in Thaba Nchu, OFS. (Verwey, E.J. (ed)(1995). New Dictionary of South African Biography, v.1, Pretoria: HSRC.)
16 March 1915 - Helena Dorothea Strauss, singer, choir director and music teacher, is born on the farm “Terugkeer” in Wepener district, OFS. (Verwey, E.J. (ed)(1995). New Dictionary of South African Biography, v.1, Pretoria: HSRC.)
16 March 1920 - Alba Bouwer, South African author, is born. (Wallis, F. (2000). Nuusdagboek: feite en fratse oor 1000 jaar, Kaapstad: Human & Rousseau.)
16 March 1922 - Britain recognises Kingdom of Egypt under Fuad I, with joint Anglo-Egyptian sovereignty over Sudan.
http://www.news24.com/News24/On_this_day/0,,2-1492_1495421,00.html
16 March 1947 - Prof. Izak Daniël Bosman (50), professor of history at the University of Pretoria, dies in Pretoria. (Potgieter, D.J. et al. (eds)(1970). Standard Encyclopaedia of Southern Africa, Cape Town: NASOU, v. 2, p. 432; Kruger, D.W. (ed)(1972). Dictionary of South African Biography, Cape Town: Human Sciences Research Council, v. 3.)
16 March 1956 - Riotous Assemblies Act No 17 commences: Prohibits gatherings in open-air public places if the Minister of Justice considers that they could endanger the public peace. Also includes banishment as a form of punishment (Dugard 1978: 137). Repealed in part by Internal Security Act No 74 of 1982.
16 March 1959 - Tito Mboweni, President of the SA Reserve Bank, is born in Tzaneen. (Wallis, F. (2000). Nuusdagboek: feite en fratse oor 1000 jaar, Kaapstad: Human & Rousseau.) www.anc.org.za/people/mboweni.html
16 March 1960 - Nicolaas Jacobus de Wet, politician and Chief Justice of the Union of South Africa, dies in Pretoria. (Potgieter, D.J. et al. (eds)(1970). Standard Encyclopaedia of Southern Africa, Cape Town: NASOU, v. 4, p. 12).
16 March 1966 - Martha Helena Cillié, teacher and headmistress whose greatest achievement was her contribution to the education of girls and to teacher training over a period of more than thirty years, dies in Somerset West, Western Cape. (Verwey, E.J. (ed)(1995). New Dictionary of South African Biography, v.1, Pretoria: HSRC.)
16 March 1972 - The Head of the Security Police, General Venter, reports that nobody is still being held incommunicado under the Terrorism Act, and that all those people detained by the Security Police have now been released. However, investigations continue. (Kalley, J.A.; Schoeman, E. & Andor, L.E. (eds)(1999). Southern African Political History: a chronology of key political events from independence to mid-1997, Westport: Greenwood.)
16 March 1973 - Jan Ellis, SA actor, is born in Belville, Cape. (Wallis, F. (2000). Nuusdagboek: feite en fratse oor 1000 jaar, Kaapstad: Human & Rousseau.)
16 March 1974 - Heath Streak, Zimbabwean cricket player, is born. (Wallis, F. (2000). Nuusdagboek: feite en fratse oor 1000 jaar, Kaapstad: Human & Rousseau.)
16 March 1975 - Bram Fischer is released from prison on health grounds, following widespread appeals on his behalf by the United Nations Secretary-General, Dr Kurt Waldheim, by the British Labour Party and by liberal Members of Parliament, as well as by many prominent South Africans. (Kalley, J.A.; Schoeman, E. & Andor, L.E. (eds)(1999). Southern African Political History: a chronology of key political events from independence to mid-1997, Westport: Greenwood.)
16 March 1979 - A warrant is issued for Dr Rhoodie’s arrest on a charge of fraud, with an alternative charge of theft. (Kalley, J.A.; Schoeman, E. & Andor, L.E. (eds)(1999). Southern African Political History: a chronology of key political events from independence to mid-1997, Westport: Greenwood.)
16 March 1979 - The terms of reference of the Erasmus Commission are extended to investigate and evaluate, by 31 March 1979, the government’s political culpability. The Prime Minister also authorises the appointment, from 1 June 1979, of an Advocate-General who will investigate and report to Parliament on any allegation, supported by a sworn affidavit, of corruption or malpractices by the government. (Kalley, J.A.; Schoeman, E. & Andor, L.E. (eds)(1999). Southern African Political History: a chronology of key political events from independence to mid-1997, Westport: Greenwood.)
16 March 1979 - Dr. Connie Mulder, leader of the recently formed Nasionale Konservatiewe Party (NKP), foresees a new political alliance bringing to power a conservative government
16 March 1983 - In elections to the 100-member Lebowa National Assembly, Dr. Phatudi’s ruling Lebowa People’s Party wins more than three-quarters of the forty elective seats. (Kalley, J.A.; Schoeman, E. & Andor, L.E. (eds)(1999). Southern African Political History: a chronology of key political events from independence to mid-1997, Westport: Greenwood.)
16 March 1984 - Prime Minister P.W. Botha and President Samora Machel of Mozambique sign the Nkomati Accord at the common border on the banks of the Komati River - a step hailed as a major move towards peace, stability and international co-operation in Southern Africa. (Bute & Harmer: The Black Handbook).
http://www.news24.com/News24/On_this_day/0,,2-1492_1495421,00.html
16 March 1987 - The International Commission of Jurists states in its report that security forces are torturing children. (Kalley, J.A.; Schoeman, E. & Andor, L.E. (eds)(1999). Southern African Political History: a chronology of key political events from independence to mid-1997, Westport: Greenwood.)
16 March 1988 - A motor bomb explodes outside the magistrate’s court in Krugersdorp, killing two army members and a civilian, and injuring twenty people. It was later revealed that Mohammed Iqbal Shaik had placed the motor bomb. Shaik was granted amnesty by the TRC in January 2000. This date is given as 17 March 1988 in other sources. http://www.doj.gov.za/trc/decisions/2001/ac21003.htm.
16 March 1988 - Archbishop Tutu confers with State President P.W. Botha in an attempt to move him to commute the death sentences imposed on the ‘Sharpeville Six’, but is accused by Botha of being a tool of the ANC and SACP. (South African Institute of Race Relations. (1989). Race Relations Survey 1988/89, Johannesburg: South African Institute of Race Relations, p. 717).
16 March 1990 - It is announced that talks between Government officials and an ANC delegation led by Nelson Mandela will open in Cape Town on 11 April. The talks are intended to discuss obstacles to the process of negotiations.
16 March 1994 - The Transitional Executive Council unveils South Africa's new "interim" national flag and says Die Stem and Nkosi Sikelel' iAfrika will be joint national anthems. http://www.news24.com/News24/On_this_day/0,,2-1492_1495421,00.html
16 March 1998 - Rwanda, with 125 000 suspects for 500 000 murders, begins mass trials for the country's 1994 genocide.
http://www.news24.com/News24/On_this_day/0,,2-1492_1495421,00.html
16 March 2004 - The former United States of America (US) Ambassador to South Africa, Mr Cameron Hume, hands over specialised anti-terrorism equipment to the SAPS. The equipment, aimed at dealing with biological, chemical and nuclear attacks, forms part of a five-year US State Department anti-terrorism assistance training programme worth about US$13 million.
http://www.info.gov.za/aboutsa/safety.htm
16 March 2004 - Zimbabwe charges sixty-nine suspected mercenaries with conspiring to murder Nguema of Equatorial Guinea. (2005). The financier, the plotter and the mercenary, The Star, 14 January, p. 13.
16 March 2005 - Former Labour Party leader and later African National Congress MP, Reverend Allan Hendrickse dies.
In June 2004 he was awarded the Order of the Baobab (silver class) for his “lifetime contribution to the struggle against apartheid and for the establishment of a free and democratic South Africa”....
http://www.iol.co.za/index.php?set_id=14&click_id=6&art_id=vn20050317070344545C557632
17 March 1657 - Rijkloff van Goens arrives in Table Bay to report on conditions at the Cape to the Directors of the Dutch East Indies and to formulate instructions for Commander Jan van Riebeeck. (Wallis, F. (2000). Nuusdagboek: feite en fratse oor 1000 jaar, Kaapstad: Human & Rousseau; SESA)
17 March 1794 - Sir Thomas Maclear, 3rd H.M.’s Astronomer at the Cape and close friend of David Livingstone, is born in Newton Stewart, Ireland. (SESA, v. 7, p. 95.)
17 March 1820 - The first British Settlers arrive in Table Bay on the Nautilus and the Chapman. (Wallis, F. (2000). Nuusdagboek: feite en fratse oor 1000 jaar, Kaapstad: Human & Rousseau.)
17 March 1863 - Frans Vredenrijk Engelenburg, editor of De Volksstem and founding member of the Akademie vir Wetenskap en Kuns (Academy for Science and Art), is born in Arnhem, The Netherlands. (Wallis, F. (2000). Nuusdagboek: feite en fratse oor 1000 jaar, Kaapstad: Human & Rousseau; (---, (2005). ‘Pretoria 1855-2005: Chronologie 1798-1935’, Bylaag tot Rekord).
17 March 1882 - George William Stow (60), who discovered coal at Vereeniging, dies in Vereeniging. (Wallis, F. (2000). Nuusdagboek: feite en fratse oor 1000 jaar, Kaapstad: Human & Rousseau.)
17 March 1890 - The first railway line in Transvaal, between Johannesburg and Boksburg, is opened. (Wallis, F. (2000). Nuusdagboek: feite en fratse oor 1000 jaar, Kaapstad: Human & Rousseau.) http://www.news24.co.za
17 March 1890 - Wilhelmina Louisa Ida (Minna) Freund, actress and teacher of elocution, is born in Glücksberg, Schleswig-Holstein, Germany, while her parents who were SA German immigrants, are on a visit to Germany. (Verwey, E.J. (ed)(1995). New Dictionary of South African Biography, v.1, Pretoria: HSRC.)
17 March 1894 - Pondo king Sigcau, son of Umquikela, agrees to become a British subject, thereby placing Pondoland under the Crown. http://www.news24.co.za
17 March 1900 - Anglo-Boer War 2: A Great combined Republican Council of War is held at Kroonstad, attended by both presidents and commanders of the Boer forces, during which far-reaching tactical decisions are taken about the future conduct of the war. (Cloete, P.G. (2000). The Anglo-Boer War: a chronology, Pretoria: Lapa.)
17 March 1900 - Anglo-Boer War 2: Pres. Kruger and Pres. Steyn appoint Count Georges de Villebois-Mareuil as general in Kroonstad during the South African War. He is killed 3 weeks later in combat in Boshof, Free State. (Wallis, F. (2000). Nuusdagboek: feite en fratse oor 1000 jaar, Kaapstad: Human & Rousseau.)
17 March 1904 - Herero Revolt: In the German Reichstag (Parliament), August Bebel representing the German Social Democratic Party (SPD) condemns the "suppression war" against the Ovaherero. He further demands the termination of the war and refuses to budget for its continuation. He calls the resistance of the Ovaherero a "justified liberation war".
http://www.klausdierks.com/Chronology/61.htm
17 March 1922 - The South African Industrial Federation (SAIF) calls off the Miners’ strike and the workers stream to work. (Yudelman, D. (1984). The Emergence of Modern South Africa: state, capital, and the incorporation of organized labor on the South African Gold Fields, 1902-1939, Cape Town: David Philip, p. 185.)
17 March 1943 - Bakili Muluzi, president of Malawi, is born. http://www.news24.co.za
17 March 1951 - The Potchefstroom University for Christian Higher Education (now a campus of the North West University) is recognised as a university after being a university college previously. (Wallis, F. (2000). Nuusdagboek: feite en fratse oor 1000 jaar, Kaapstad: Human & Rousseau.)
17 March 1958 - African National Congress is banned in several rural districts.
17 March 1965 - Andrew Hudson, South African cricket player, is born. (Wallis, F. (2000). Nuusdagboek: feite en fratse oor 1000 jaar, Kaapstad: Human & Rousseau.)
17 March 1965 - Steve Atherton, Natal rugby player, is born. (Wallis, F. (2000). Nuusdagboek: feite en fratse oor 1000 jaar, Kaapstad: Human & Rousseau.)
17 March 1972 - President Fouché pays a state visit to Malawi (17-24 March) and appeals for peaceful co-existence and cooperation between African states.
17 March 1975 - Two days of meetings start in Cape Town between Prime Ministers Vorster and Ian Smith, with discussions focusing on the détente policy and the future of Rhodesia.
17 March 1977 - Angolan troops invading Zaire take important copper-mining centre of Kolwezi. http://www.news24.co.za
17 March 1979 - It is reported that during February 1979, Dr. Eschel Rhoodie has claimed in interviews in Quito, Ecador, that he was the initiator of the South African government’s policy of detente conducted in 1974-76. He subsequently threatens to release forty-one tape recordings containing details of secret South African propaganda and security operations.
17 March 1984 - A Defence Force spokesman confirms in Cape Town that South Africa is to stop supplying the United States and Britain with intelligence reports on the movements of Soviet warships around the Cape by the end of the year.
17 March 1988 - The "Sharpeville Six" win a one-day stay of execution in the Pretoria Supreme Court. The stay is granted a day before the six are to be hanged. The six may now petition the Chief Justice for a re-trial on the basis that a state witness has lied. http://www.news24.co.za
17 March 1988 - A car bomb explodes outside the Krugersdorp magistrate's court, killing three people and wounding 22. (Wallis, F. (2000). Nuusdagboek: feite en fratse oor 1000 jaar, Kaapstad: Human & Rousseau.) http://www.news24.co.za
http://www.info.gov.za/speeches/1998/98505_0w9669810290.htm
17 March 1989 - The condition of Donsie Khumalo, on a hunger strike since 9 March with other unionists in support of the release of all detainees, becomes critical. He abandons his strike when assurances are given that he will be released. (South African Institute of Race Relations. (1989). Race Relations Survey 1988/89, Johannesburg: South African Institute of Race Relations, p. 464).
17 March 1989 - Business Day reports that the Soweto delegation for ending the rent boycott has released a report, drawn up by Planact, a private body advising community groups on environmental matters, recommending that there should be a single tax base for Soweto and Johannesburg. As an interim measure it recommended that a proportion of Johannesburg’s municipal funds should be transferred to Soweto to subsidise service charges. (South African Institute of Race Relations. (1989). Race Relations Survey 1988/89, Johannesburg: South African Institute of Race Relations, p. 212).
17 March 1990 - More than 10 000 mourners gather in strife-torn Katlehong township near Alberton to bury fourteen victims of the taxi war. The Katlehong Civic Association says up to forty-five people were killed in the violence. (South African Institute of Race Relations. (1990). Race Relations Survey 1989/90, Johannesburg: South African Institute of Race Relations, p. 89).
17 March 1992 - White voters in a referendum overwhelmingly support reforms towards ending apartheid in South Africa. (The Star. 17th March 2003. Milestones).
17 March 1993 - Hundreds of police in Assiut, Egypt storm two buildings where bomb-throwing extremists are holed up. At least eleven people are killed. http://www.news24.co.za
17 March 1996 - Mugabe is re-elected as president in Zimbabwe with 92.7% of the vote but the opposition contests the results.
http://www.news24.com/News24/Africa/Zimbabwe/0,,2-11-1662_1682809,00.html
17 March 1997 - Allan Boesak appears in a Cape Town court to face nine charges of fraud and twenty-one charges of theft involving more than $800,000 - most of it donated to his Foundation for Peace and Justice by Danish and Swedish aid organizations. The case is postponed until 4 August 1997
17 March 1997 - Denel says no deal has been reached over the sale of arms to Syria.
17 March 1999 - Allan Boesak, former Director of the Foundation for Peace and Justice, is found guilty in the Cape Supreme Court of embezzling about R1,3 million. (Wallis, F. (2000). Nuusdagboek: feite en fratse oor 1000 jaar, Kaapstad: Human & Rousseau.)
17 March 1999 - Prof. Hans Roosenschoon, director of the conservatory in Stellenbosch, informs the members of the university choir that the choir will be disbanded at the end of the semester. (Wallis, F. (2000). Nuusdagboek: feite en fratse oor 1000 jaar, Kaapstad: Human & Rousseau.)
17 March 2000 - Start of the first lottery in SA. (---, (2005). ‘Pretoria 1855-2005: Chronologie 1798-1935’, Bylaag tot Rekord.)
17 March 2000 - About 500 members of a doomsday cult die in a church fire in a remote part of southwestern Uganda. Mass graves containing 400 more corpses are discovered around cult leaders’ homes. (The Star. 17th March 2003. Milestones).
17 March 2004 - National Library Week (17-22 March) starts. http://www.nyc.gov.za/calendar/calendar_of_events.htm
17 March 2005 - Jan Egeland, the United Nations' relief co-ordinator, announces in Geneva that conflict and preventable disease have triggered a massive humanitarian crisis in the east of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), now the world's worst with 1 000 deaths daily. About a million people have lost their lives because of the strife or diseases and hunger
http://www.news24.com/News24/Africa/News/0,6119,2-11-1447_1677476,00.html
17 March 2005 - A recount of Namibia's parliamentary elections has ended with officials confirming the original results of the November polls.http://www.news24.co.za
17 March 2005 - Six people die and twenty five are critically injured in a road accident on the R70 between Polokwane and Giyani when the truck they are travelling in overturns. They were being transported from various ZZ2 farms when the accident happened.
http://www.sabcnews.co.za/south_africa/general/0,2172,100285,00.html
17 March 2007 – In a record-breaking performance, Herschel Gibbs scores 6 sixes in a row against Holland during a 221-run World Cup win over the Netherlands. He also tops Sanath Jayasuriya’s record of most runs in a one-day over which stood at 30 - achieved twice against Pakistan’s Aamir Sohail in Singapore in 1996 and New Zealander Chris Harris at Sharjah five years later.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/606/A20834318
http://www.sundaytimes.co.za/article.aspx?ID=414963
18 March 1822 - Dr James Barry (allegedly a lady, Miranda Stuart) is appointed by Lord Charles Somerset as medical inspector of the Colony in the position of Dr J. Robb, who has resigned. (Wallis, F. (2000). Nuusdagboek: feite en fratse oor 1000 jaar, Kaapstad: Human & Rousseau.)
18 March 1827 – Janet Soga (neé Burnside) is born in Hutchesontown, Glasgow, Scotland. She married Tito Yoga, the first Black man to be ordained to the Christian ministry, in February, 1857. They sailed for South Africa on 18 April of that year. (Sonderling, N.E. (ed.) New Dictionary of South African Biography, v. 2).
18 March 1834 - Maria Koopmans-De Wet, linguist, art lover and cultural leader, is born in Cape Town. (Wallis, F. (2000). Nuusdagboek: feite en fratse oor 1000 jaar, Kaapstad: Human & Rousseau; SESA).
18 March 1852 - The Sand River Convention, recognising the independence of emigrant farmers north of the Vaal River, is ratified by the Volksraad of the Transvaal Republic. Representatives of the Boers and British government signed it two months previously.
http://www.news24.com/News24/On_this_day/0,,2-1492_1496533,00.html
18 March 1862 - The railway line from Cape Town reaches Stellenbosch. http://www.news24.com/News24/On_this_day/0,,2-1492_1496533,00.html
18 March 1922 - The strike by mineworkers on the Witwatersrand, also known as the Rand Revolt, ends. More than 200 people were killed during the strike, which put thousands out of work and caused a devastating loss in coal and gold production. (The Star. 18th March 2003. Milestones).
18 March 1936 - F.W. de Klerk, former state president of South Africa, is born in Johannesburg. (Pretoria News. 18th March 2003. Today in history). www.conferencespeakers.co.za/speakers/fwdeklerk.htm
18 March 1940 - Adolf Hitler and Benito Mussolini hold a meeting at the Brenner Pass during which the Italian dictator agrees to join in Germany’s war against France and Britain. In April 1944, 6 SA Armoured Division crossed to Italy and spent twelve months in hard fighting. (The Star. 18th March 2003. Milestones; Potgieter, D.J. et al. (eds)(1970). Standard Encyclopaedia of Southern Africa, Cape Town: NASOU, v. 11, p. 519.)
18 March 1949 - The North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) is founded. (Wallis, F. (2000). Nuusdagboek: feite en fratse oor 1000 jaar, Kaapstad: Human & Rousseau.)
18 March 1946 - Mahatma Gandhi sends a telegram to Field Marshal Smuts asking him to withdraw the Asiatic Bill. He also issues a press statement describing the Bill as a challenge to Asia and Africa.
18 March 1950 - The University of the Orange Free State is founded in Bloemfontein. (Wallis, F. (2000). Nuusdagboek: feite en fratse oor 1000 jaar, Kaapstad: Human & Rousseau.)
18 March 1962 - French and Algerian rebel delegations in Evian-les-Baine, France, sign ceasefire agreement in Algerian War.
http://www.el-mouradia.dz/francais/algerie/histoire/accord%20evian.htm
18 March 1963 - War of independence is launched against Portugal in Guinea-Bissau. (Bute, E.L. & Harmer, H.J.P. (1997). The Black Handbook, London: Cassell.)
18 March 1965 - The nuclear reactor Safari at Pelindaba goes critical – and South Africa enters the nuclear age. (The Star. 18th March 2003. Milestones; Kalley, J.A.; Schoeman, E. & Andor, L.E. (eds)(1999). Southern African Political History: a chronology of key political events from independence to mid-1997, Westport: Greenwood.)
18 March 1966 - The Defence and Aid Fund is banned as an unlawful organisation under the Suppression of Communism Act. It is an autonomous South African body providing legal aid for persons accused of political offences and support for the families of political prisoners. The fund's office in Cape Town, East London, Johannesburg and Port Elizabeth are searched by police, as well as the homes of its office bearers, including that of the author, Alan Paton. (Kalley, J.A.; Schoeman, E. & Andor, L.E. (eds)(1999). Southern African Political History: a chronology of key political events from independence to mid-1997, Westport: Greenwood.)
18 March 1969 - Minister of Defence, P.W. Botha, attends the launching in France of the first of three Daphne class submarines being built for the South African Navy. (Kalley, J.A.; Schoeman, E. & Andor, L.E. (eds)(1999). Southern African Political History: a chronology of key political events from independence to mid-1997, Westport: Greenwood.)
18 March 1970 - The Deputy Leader of the Herstigte Nasionale Party (HNP), Jaap Marais, is committed for trial in the Pretoria Supreme Court on three charges under the Official Secrets Act. (Kalley, J.A.; Schoeman, E. & Andor, L.E. (eds)(1999). Southern African Political History: a chronology of key political events from independence to mid-1997, Westport: Greenwood.)
18 March 1974 - The Minister of the Interior, Connie Mulder, announces that senior officials of the World Council of Churches (WCC) have been banned from South Africa. Entry will be refused to any member of the Council’s Executive or Central Committee. (Kalley, J.A.; Schoeman, E. & Andor, L.E. (eds)(1999). Southern African Political History: a chronology of key political events from independence to mid-1997, Westport: Greenwood.)
18 March 1975 – All activities of the South African Students’ Organisation (SASO) are suspended until further notice. (Kalley, J.A.; Schoeman, E. & Andor, L.E. (eds)(1999). Southern African Political History: a chronology of key political events from independence to mid-1997, Westport: Greenwood.)
18 March 1975 - Herbert Chitepo, 52, ZANU leader, is killed in Lusaka when his car blows up in an explosion.
18 March 1977 - President Marien Ngouabi of the Congo is assassinated in a military coup and replaced by Colonel Yhombi-Opango. (Bute, E.L. & Harmer, H.J.P. (1997). The Black Handbook, London: Cassell.)
18 March 1979 - The government admits responsibility for the death of the Black leader, Joseph Mdluli on 19 March 1976 and agree to pay damages to his family. A claim for loss of support, against the Minister of Justice and Police, will be settled out of court. (Kalley, J.A.; Schoeman, E. & Andor, L.E. (eds)(1999). Southern African Political History: a chronology of key political events from independence to mid-1997, Westport: Greenwood.)
18 March 1981 - The PAC announces in Dan es Salaam that it has reinstated seventy-two members expelled from the movement in July 1978. (Kalley, J.A.; Schoeman, E. & Andor, L.E. (eds)(1999). Southern African Political History: a chronology of key political events from independence to mid-1997, Westport: Greenwood.)
18 March 1987 - The Five Freedoms Forum - an alliance of White anti-apartheid organisations is launched in Johannesburg.
http://www.news24.com/News24/On_this_day/0,,2-1492_1496533,00.html
18 March 1987 - Israel freezes military contracts and imposes cultural and tourism sanctions on South Africa. (Kalley, J.A.; Schoeman, E. & Andor, L.E. (eds)(1999). Southern African Political History: a chronology of key political events from independence to mid-1997, Westport: Greenwood.)
18 March 1998 - The World Health Organisation reports that without urgent action against tuberculosis, 1-billion people will be infected and 70-million will die by 2020. (The Star. 18th March 2003. Milestones).
18 March 2000 - Aid arrives in Mozambique where flooding leaves as many as 700 people dead and destroys the homes and jobs of another 2-million. http://www.news24.co.za
18 March 2001 - The Department of Health declines the offer of a large donation of HIV test kits made by Guardian Scientific Africa Incorporated.
18 March 2002 - Senior US officials say that a high-ranking member of exiled Saudi multimillionaire Osama bin Laden’s al-Qaeda terrorist network is captured in Sudan. (Pretoria News. 18th March 2003. Today in history).
18 March 2003 - Egypt's highest court clears democracy activist Saad Eddin Ibrahim on charges of defaming Egypt and illegally accepting foreign funds. International human rights groups hail his release as an important victory for democracy in Egypt. http://www.news24.co.za
18 March 2007 – Bob Woolmer, 58, Pakistani cricket coach and former South African coach, is found unconscious in his hotel room during the World Cup in the West Indies and later dies in hospital. After weeks of investigation his body is returned to his family in South Africa. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/cricket/6464983.stm
19 March 1813 - Dr David Livingstone, SA explorer and missionary, generally accepted to be the first White man to see the Victoria Falls is born in Blantyre, Scotland. (Wallis, F. (2000). Nuusdagboek: feite en fratse oor 1000 jaar, Kaapstad: Human & Rousseau; Potgieter, D.J. et al. (eds)(1970). Standard Encyclopaedia of Southern Africa, Cape Town: NASOU, v.7, p. 1.)
19 March 1858 - War against the Basuto is declared in Bloemfontein. http://www.news24.com/News24/On_this_day/0,,2-1492_1491565,00.html
19 March 1894 - Nqwiliso (also Nowiliso), tribal chief of Western Pondoland and eldest son of Ndamase, signs a treaty with Cape Governor H.G. Elliott in terms of which Western Pondoland was later annexed. (Kruger, D.W. (ed)(1972). Dictionary of South African Biography, Cape Town: Human Sciences Research Council, v. 3, p. 661).
http://www.news24.com/News24/On_this_day/0,,2-1492_1491565,00.html
19 March 1895 - Scot of the Union Shipping Line sails from England to South Africa in a record time of 14 days, 18 hours and 57 minutes. (Wallis, F. (2000). Nuusdagboek: feite en fratse oor 1000 jaar, Kaapstad: Human & Rousseau.)
19 March 1901 – Anglo-Boer War 2: Commandant Gideon Scheepers executes two armed Coloureds of a group that has fired at his commando from a farmhouse near Jansenville. He releases two loyal Cape farmers and ten other Coloureds. (Cloete: The Anglo-Boer War: a chronology).
19 March 1910 - Thomas Thornton becomes the first air passenger in SA when he pays Albert Kimmerling £100 for a short flight from Sydenham Hill in Johannesburg. On the same day, the Rand reporter Julia Stansfield becomes the first woman passenger when Kimmmerling takes her on a flight over Johannesburg. (Wallis, F. (2000). Nuusdagboek: feite en fratse oor 1000 jaar, Kaapstad: Human & Rousseau.)
19 March 1919 - Jack Hindon (44), the man after whom the SA medal for outstanding service is named, dies in Pretoria. (Wallis, F. (2000). Nuusdagboek: feite en fratse oor 1000 jaar, Kaapstad: Human & Rousseau.)
19 March 1932 - The publishing company, Afrikaanse Pers Beperk, is established in Pretoria. (Wallis, F. (2000). Nuusdagboek: feite en fratse oor 1000 jaar, Kaapstad: Human & Rousseau.)
19 March 1953 - Lt.-Col. Hermanus Christiaan (Manie) Bredell, chief adjunct commissioner of the SA Police, dies on his farm Zonneheuwel, near Marquard. (Wallis, F. (2000). Nuusdagboek: feite en fratse oor 1000 jaar, Kaapstad: Human & Rousseau.)
19 March 1962 - Relative calm returns to Algeria after cease-fire, ending seven years of warfare between French and Algerian Nationalists. http://www.news24.com/News24/On_this_day/0,,2-1492_1491565,00.html
19 March 1963 - Algeria demands that France negotiate on ending nuclear testing in Algerian Sahara.
http://www.news24.com/News24/On_this_day/0,,2-1492_1491565,00.html
19 March 1971 - Prime Minister Vorster says that his government is prepared to engage in dialogue, without preconditions, with other African countries prepared to talk. His offer meets with mixed reactions throughout the continent. (Kalley, J.A.; Schoeman, E. & Andor, L.E. (eds)(1999). Southern African Political History: a chronology of key political events from independence to mid-1997, Westport: Greenwood.)
19 March 1974 - The Narcotics Bureau of the SA Police is founded. (Wallis, F. (2000). Nuusdagboek: feite en fratse oor 1000 jaar, Kaapstad: Human & Rousseau.)
19 March 1975 - The second elections to the Coloured Persons’ Representative Council result in thirty-one of the Council’s forty elective seats being won by the anti-apartheid Labour Party, which now has an absolute majority in the Council. Its leader, Sonny Leon, states that his party’s minimum demand is full equality with Whites - complete economic and political freedom. On the day of the elections the Minister of Coloured Relations gives notice of a Bill enabling him to exercise the powers and functions of the Council in certain circumstances. (Kalley, J.A.; Schoeman, E. & Andor, L.E. (eds)(1999). Southern African Political History: a chronology of key political events from independence to mid-1997, Westport: Greenwood.)
19 March 1975 - The first elections of twenty members of the Legislative Assembly (19-21 March) start in Qwaqwa. (Kalley, J.A.; Schoeman, E. & Andor, L.E. (eds)(1999). Southern African Political History: a chronology of key political events from independence to mid-1997, Westport: Greenwood.)
19 March 1976 - The South African government announces that self-governing status is to be granted to the Caprivi region of South West Africa (Namibia) on April 1. http://www.news24.com/News24/On_this_day/0,,2-1492_1491565,00.html
19 March 1976 - Rhodesia's constitutional talks collapse.
http://www.news24.com/News24/On_this_day/0,,2-1492_1491565,00.html
19 March 1976 - Stuart Cloete (78), author of Rags of Glory and Wheels, dies in Johannesburg. (Wallis, F. (2000). Nuusdagboek: feite en fratse oor 1000 jaar, Kaapstad: Human & Rousseau.)
19 March 1977 - In a joint declaration the leaders of the United Party. Sir de Villiers Graaff and the Democratic Party, Theo Gerdener, express their agreement to form a new party on the basis of equal rights for all racial groups in South Africa. No actual unification is immediately announced. (Kalley, J.A.; Schoeman, E. & Andor, L.E. (eds)(1999). Southern African Political History: a chronology of key political events from independence to mid-1997, Westport: Greenwood.)
19 March 1977 - The president of the Republic of Congo, Marien Ngouabi, is assassinated at his official residence in Brazzaville.
http://www.news24.com/News24/On_this_day/0,,2-1492_1491565,00.html
19 March 1982 - Fifteen English cricket players are prohibited to play for three years in England, because of their rebel tour to SA. (Wallis, F. (2000). Nuusdagboek: feite en fratse oor 1000 jaar, Kaapstad: Human & Rousseau.)
19 March 1987 - Israel's 10-member "inner cabinet" halts all military deals with South Africa.
http://www.news24.com/News24/On_this_day/0,,2-1492_1491565,00.html
19 March 1990 - Willie Hepburn sets a South African land speed record when he streaks to 372,401 km/h in a 7-litre Pontiac TransAm on the N3 toll road near Villiers in the Free State. http://www.news24.com/News24/On_this_day/0,,2-1492_1491565,00.html
19 March 1993 - Ditau Molefyane, junior lightweight champion of SA wins the World Boxing Federation (WBF) title.
19 March 1993 - Zandra Mitchley, her son, Shaun, and his friend, Clare Silberbauer, are murdered in Eikenhof, near Johannesburg. Three ANC activists, (popularly known as the Eikenhof Three), were initially convicted, but it emerged during TRC hearings that Phila Dolo, PAC activist, was responsible. (Wallis, F. (2000). Nuusdagboek: feite en fratse oor 1000 jaar, Kaapstad: Human & Rousseau.) http://www.doj.gov.za/trc/media/1999/9911/p991109c.htm
19 March 1996 - President Mandela’s thirteen-year marriage to Winnie Mandela is formally ended when a Rand Supreme Court judge grants his petition for divorce on the grounds of irretrievable breakdown. (Wallis, F. (2000). Nuusdagboek: feite en fratse oor 1000 jaar, Kaapstad: Human & Rousseau.) http://www.sahistory.org.za/pages/mainframe.htm
19 March 1996 - Robert Mugabe wins another six-year term as president of Zimbabwe after crushing his two opponents in the country's presidential elections. But it is a one-sided affair marked a major stay-away and the lowest voter turnout in national elections since Mugabe came to power in 1980. http://www.news24.com/News24/On_this_day/0,,2-1492_1491565,00.html
19 March 1997 - The Denel group and Aerospatiale of France sign an agreement to broaden co-operation in various fields, notably helicopters and tactical missiles. (Kalley, J.A.; Schoeman, E. & Andor, L.E. (eds)(1999). Southern African Political History: a chronology of key political events from independence to mid-1997, Westport: Greenwood.)
19 March 1998 - Makhaya Ntini becomes the first Black SA cricket player to play in a five-day test. He takes 2 wickets in Cape Town. (Wallis, F. (2000). Nuusdagboek: feite en fratse oor 1000 jaar, Kaapstad: Human & Rousseau.)
19 March 1999 - Libya agrees to hand over the two Lockerbie suspects by 6 April 1999. The date is confirmed in a letter to the UN Secretary-General. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/special_report /1998/08/98/lockerbie/156144.stm
19 March 2003 - The US launches an attack against Iraq after Iraqi President Saddam Hussein's deadline for exile expires.
http://www.news24.com/News24/On_this_day/0,,2-1492_1491565,00.html
19 March 2004 - Mukesh Kapila, UN top official in Sudan, issues the strongest international warning yet about the conflict in the country’s west, saying government-allied militia (janjawiet) are responsible for “war crimes” and acts akin to ethnic cleansing. 700,00 People have been displaced in desperate conditions, while over 100,000 have fled to neighbouring Chad according to the UN. (Financial Times, March 20/March 21, 2004. Wallis, William. UN accuses Sudan militia of war crimes).
19 March 2005 - This year’s 46664 concert, named after Mandela's prison number under apartheid, highlights the plight of women and girls, who are six times more likely to be infected with the Aids virus than men in South Africa. The event is staged at the exclusive golf resort of Fancourt, just outside George, on the Garden Route and stars world celebrities and a host of local talent.
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