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South Africa

country in southern Africa

24 dated entries naming South Africa, drawn from 23 separate years between 1075 CE and 2025 CE. Nothing here is written by us: each line is the sentence a Wikipedia year article used, and the link beside it opens the exact revision.

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11th century

  • 1075The Kingdom of Mapungubwe is established, in modern-day South Africa.source

16th century

  • 1509November 4 – Afonso de Albuquerque becomes the Viceroy of Portuguese India, replacing Francisco de Almeida, who departs five days later from Diu. Almeida never makes it home, getting killed along with his 64 men in a battle on March 1 with the local Khoekhoe people at South Africa's Cape of Good Hope.source

17th century

  • 1652April 6 – Dutch sailor Jan van Riebeeck establishes a resupply camp for the Dutch East India Company at the Cape of Good Hope in modern-day South Africa, thus founding Cape Town.source
  • 1694April 2 – Sheikh Yusuf, exiled by the administrators of the Dutch East Indies (modern-day Indonesia), arrives at the Dutch Cape Colony on the ship De Voetboog, at what later becomes Cape Town, South Africa, along with two wives, two concubines and twelve children. Resettled by the colonial government at a farm in Zandvliet, the Sheikh introduces Islam to South Africa.source

18th century

  • 1704June 2 – Annular solar eclipse is visible from a region of the Southern Ocean between South Africa and Antarctica.source
  • 1722November 20 – The Dutch East India Company cargo ship Schoonenberg runs aground in South Africa's Struis Bay and is looted by most of its 110 crew, beginning a legend and questions of whether the wreck was part of a conspiracy or simply an accident. Almost 300 years later, the event is reconstructed in detail by investigators.source
  • 1784A huge locust swarm hits South Africa.source

19th century

  • 1873July 5 – New Rush in Griqualand West, South Africa, is renamed Kimberley.source

20th century

  • 1923March 1 – Eskom, the largest electricity producer in Africa, is established in South Africa.source
  • 1926March 6 – The first commercial air route from the United Kingdom to South Africa is established by Alan Cobham.source
  • 1928June 9 – Ellis Park Stadium, a well-known sport venue of South Africa, officially opens in Johannesburg.source
  • 1955June 26 – The Freedom Charter of the anti-apartheid South African Congress Alliance is adopted, at a Congress of the People in Kliptown.source
  • 1978July 24 – In Acapulco, Mexico, Margaret Gardiner of South Africa is crowned Miss Universe.source
  • 1979September 22 – Vela incident: The "South Atlantic Flash" is observed near the Prince Edward Islands in the Indian Ocean, thought to be a nuclear weapons test conducted by South Africa and Israel.source
  • 1983August 24 – South Africa announces "all outstanding issues" preventing independence for South West Africa (present-day Namibia) have been resolved, except for the continuing presence of 23,000 Cuban troops in neighboring Angola.source
  • 1986June 12 – South Africa declares a nationwide state of emergency.source
  • 1991April 15 – End of Apartheid: The European Economic Community lifts economic sanctions on South Africa.source
  • 1991January 29 – In South Africa, Nelson Mandela of the African National Congress and Mangosuthu Buthelezi of the Inkatha Freedom Party agree to end violence between the two organizations.source
  • 1998Bill Clinton makes the first visit to South Africa by a U.S. president.source

21st century

  • 2010June 11–July 11 – The 2010 FIFA World Cup was held in South Africa and was won by Spain.source
  • 2015September 10 – Scientists announce the discovery of Homo naledi, a previously unknown species of early human in South Africa.source
  • 2022November 2–November 3 – Tigray War: The Ethiopian government and the TPLF agree to a formal cessation of hostilities, signing a peace agreement in Pretoria, South Africa.source
  • 2023December 29 – A genocide case against Israel is brought towards the International Court of Justice by South Africa for Israel's invasion and subsequent bombardment of the Gaza Strip, and its role in the subsequent humanitarian crisis.source
  • 2025November 22–23 – The G20 Johannesburg summit is held in South Africa, the first time a G20 summit has been held in Africa.source

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