1899 in South Africa
Encyclopedia
April
- The TransvaalSouth African RepublicThe South African Republic , often informally known as the Transvaal Republic, was an independent Boer-ruled country in Southern Africa during the second half of the 19th century. Not to be confused with the present-day Republic of South Africa, it occupied the area later known as the South African...
government orders Asiatics to move into Locations specified by the government before the 1 July
May
- 4 May - Cape TownCape TownCape Town is the second-most populous city in South Africa, and the provincial capital and primate city of the Western Cape. As the seat of the National Parliament, it is also the legislative capital of the country. It forms part of the City of Cape Town metropolitan municipality...
based food packaging company Imperial Cold Storage and Supply CompanyImperial Cold Storage and Supply CompanyImperial Cold Storage and Supply Company was one of the largest meat processing, storage, distribution and marketing companies in South Africa, dominating the South African packaged food sector for almost a hundred years. The company was formally registered and listed as ICS in 1899, originally...
was founded in LondonLondonLondon is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
at a cost of GB£Pound sterlingThe pound sterling , commonly called the pound, is the official currency of the United Kingdom, its Crown Dependencies and the British Overseas Territories of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands, British Antarctic Territory and Tristan da Cunha. It is subdivided into 100 pence...
272,000 (equivalent to £112,000,000 in 2010). - 5 May - Sir Alfred Milner, High Commissioner of South Africa and Governor of the Cape Colony sends a telegram to Joseph ChamberlainJoseph ChamberlainJoseph Chamberlain was an influential British politician and statesman. Unlike most major politicians of the time, he was a self-made businessman and had not attended Oxford or Cambridge University....
urging him to intervene in South African RepublicSouth African RepublicThe South African Republic , often informally known as the Transvaal Republic, was an independent Boer-ruled country in Southern Africa during the second half of the 19th century. Not to be confused with the present-day Republic of South Africa, it occupied the area later known as the South African...
October
- 1 October - Jan Gysbert Hugo Bosman (aka Bosman de Ravelli), a concert pianistPianistA pianist is a musician who plays the piano. A professional pianist can perform solo pieces, play with an ensemble or orchestra, or accompany one or more singers, solo instrumentalists, or other performers.-Choice of genres:...
and composerComposerA composer is a person who creates music, either by musical notation or oral tradition, for interpretation and performance, or through direct manipulation of sonic material through electronic media...
leaves South Africa for LondonLondonLondon is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its... - 11 October - The South African RepublicSouth African RepublicThe South African Republic , often informally known as the Transvaal Republic, was an independent Boer-ruled country in Southern Africa during the second half of the 19th century. Not to be confused with the present-day Republic of South Africa, it occupied the area later known as the South African...
declares war on BritainUnited KingdomThe United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
and launches the Second Boer WarSecond Boer WarThe Second Boer War was fought from 11 October 1899 until 31 May 1902 between the British Empire and the Afrikaans-speaking Dutch settlers of two independent Boer republics, the South African Republic and the Orange Free State...
which only ends in 19021902 in South Africa-May:* 4 May - Boer General Jan Smuts meets with the British General Horatio Kitchener at Kroonstad* 6 May - Qulusi-Zulu chief Sokhobobo attacks Field-cornet Potgieter and 70 Boers while sleeping with a 300 strong impi leaving 56 Boers and 52 Zulus dead in the Holkrantz massacre* 31 May - The... - 14 October - Kimberley comes under siegeSiege of KimberleyThe Siege of Kimberley took place during the Second Boer War at Kimberley, Cape Colony , when Boer forces from the Orange Free State and the Transvaal besieged the diamond mining town. The Boers moved quickly to try to capture the British enclave when war broke out between the British and the two...
by the Boers - 30 October - Start of the Siege of LadysmithSiege of LadysmithThe Siege of Ladysmith was a protracted engagement in the Second Boer War, taking place between 30 October 1899 and 28 February 1900 at Ladysmith, Natal.-Background:...
Births
- 30 January - Max TheilerMax TheilerMax Theiler was a South African/American virologist. He was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1951 for developing a vaccine against yellow fever.-Career development:...
, a virologistVirologyVirology is the study of viruses and virus-like agents: their structure, classification and evolution, their ways to infect and exploit cells for virus reproduction, the diseases they cause, the techniques to isolate and culture them, and their use in research and therapy...
and the first South African to receive a Nobel PrizeNobel PrizeThe Nobel Prizes are annual international awards bestowed by Scandinavian committees in recognition of cultural and scientific advances. The will of the Swedish chemist Alfred Nobel, the inventor of dynamite, established the prizes in 1895...
(Nobel Prize in Physiology or MedicineNobel Prize in Physiology or MedicineThe Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine administered by the Nobel Foundation, is awarded once a year for outstanding discoveries in the field of life science and medicine. It is one of five Nobel Prizes established in 1895 by Swedish chemist Alfred Nobel, the inventor of dynamite, in his will...
), is born in PretoriaPretoriaPretoria is a city located in the northern part of Gauteng Province, South Africa. It is one of the country's three capital cities, serving as the executive and de facto national capital; the others are Cape Town, the legislative capital, and Bloemfontein, the judicial capital.Pretoria is... - 18 February - Aegidius Jean Blignaut, short story writer and creator of Hottentot Ruiter is born in KroonstadKroonstadKroonstad is the third-largest town in the Free State province of South Africa, and lies two hours drive from Gauteng. In the 1991 census it had a population of 110,963...
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Deaths
- 6 June - Sir Henry BinnsHenry BinnsSir Henry Binns, KCMG was Prime Minister of the Colony of Natal, South Africa from 5 October 1897 - 8 June 1899....
, sugar cane farmer, founder of the Umhlanga Valley Sugar Estate Company and Natal politician, dies in PietermaritzburgPietermaritzburgPietermaritzburg is the capital and second largest city in the province of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. It was founded in 1838, and is currently governed by the Msunduzi Local Municipality. Its "purist" Zulu name is umGungundlovu, and this is the name used for the district municipality...
at the age of 61