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eventREF E-0012085Revised

21 July 1967

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

Chief Albert Luthul

Updated
17 Jul 2020
Chief Albert Luthul

On 21 July 1967, Chief Albert Luthuli died after he was struck by a train on a railway bridge close to the home that he had been confined to by the Apartheid regime in Groutville, (then) Stanger, KwaZulu-Natal. Chief Luthuli was President-General of the African National Congress (ANC) from 1952 until his death in 1967. In 1960, he received the Nobel Peace Prize and he was the most widely known and respected African leader of his era. Born near Bulawayo in Zimbabwe, in 1898, the Chief's family moved to Kwazulu-Natal in 1908. Luthuli trained as a teacher and lay preacher in the Methodist Church. His political activities and defiance brought him into direct conflict with the apartheid government. He was banned from public gatherings and confined to his home. This, however, did not stop him from playing a political role in the country. Throughout his life Chief Luthuli steadfastly believed that a non-racial society in South Africa could be achieved.

How we know this

  1. 01Nelson Mandela Centre of Memory, (2007), ‘Making Peace marks 40th anniversary of Albert Luthuli’s death’, 19 July, [online], available at www.nelsonmandela.org (Accessed: 06 June 2012)
  2. 02Nobel Peace Prize.org, ‘The Nobel Peace Prize 1960: Albert Lutuli’, [online], available at www.nobelprize.org (Accessed: 06 June 2012)
  3. 03South African History Online, ‘Chief Albert Luthuli’, [online], available at www.sahistory.org.za (Accessed: 06 June 2012)

Last updated · 17 Jul 2020

Cite this entry

South African History Online. (2011, March 16). Chief Albert Luthuli, Nobel Peace Prize winner and former President of the ANC, is killed in Groutville. South African History Online. https://sahistory.org.za/ref/E-0012085

South African History Online (2011) 'Chief Albert Luthuli, Nobel Peace Prize winner and former President of the ANC, is killed in Groutville', South African History Online, 16 March. Available at: https://sahistory.org.za/ref/E-0012085 (Accessed: 12 October 2026).

South African History Online, Chief Albert Luthuli, Nobel Peace Prize winner and former President of the ANC, is killed in Groutville [website], https://sahistory.org.za/ref/E-0012085, (accessed 12 October 2026).

"Chief Albert Luthuli, Nobel Peace Prize winner and former President of the ANC, is killed in Groutville." South African History Online, 16 Mar. 2011, https://sahistory.org.za/ref/E-0012085. Accessed 12 Oct. 2026.

South African History Online. "Chief Albert Luthuli, Nobel Peace Prize winner and former President of the ANC, is killed in Groutville." South African History Online. March 16, 2011. https://sahistory.org.za/ref/E-0012085.

Also on 21 July

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  2. 1901Three cases of Buboinic plague are reported in Cape Town
  3. 1946SAIC Executive meets in Cape Town
  4. 1964UN concerned about Fischer’s arrest
  5. 1977Llewellyn Herbert was born on this day
  6. 1981Umkhonto We Sizwe, military wing of the ANC, claims responsibility for power station blast
  7. 1992UN Special Envoy visits SA
  8. 1999South African athlete, Sergio Motsoeneng, admits to cheating in Comrades Marathon

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