23 February
Today in 1945 Allan Boesak, clergyman and politician, was born in Kakemas. When other black political leaders were arrested or in exile, Boesak established himself as a spokesperson for black South Africans against apartheid. In 1982 Boesak became President of the World Alliance of Reformed Churches, which claimed to represent about 70 million Protestants worldwide. He was also a founding member of the United Democratic Front in 1983. In 1991 he was elected chairperson of the ANC in the Western Cape.His meteoric rise was checked in 1985 when international funders investigated his misappropriation of money for which he was responsible for disbursing to children. In 1999 he was convicted of fraud and imprisoned. In January 2005 he was granted a Presidential pardon.
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In 1854 Britain agreed to leave the territory north of the Orange River, allowing for the establishment of the Republic of the Orange Free State which was established by the signing of the Bloemfontein Convention between Sir George Clerk of Britain and 25 representatives of the people in Bloemfontein.
The convention guaranteed the independence of the territory between the Orange and Vaal Rivers.
In addition to the declaration of independence, the document also contained clauses regarding treaties with indigenous people, prohibition of slavery, and regulating trade.... » «
The convention guaranteed the independence of the territory between the Orange and Vaal Rivers.
In addition to the declaration of independence, the document also contained clauses regarding treaties with indigenous people, prohibition of slavery, and regulating trade.... » «
In 1925 Vivian Ian Smith was born in Durban. He played nine Tests from 1947 to 1957 for South Africa. Five Tests were played in England on tours in 1947 and 1955, and four in Australia in 1949-50 and 1957-58.
Smith was a lower-order right-handed batsman and a right-arm leg-break bowler.... » «
Smith was a lower-order right-handed batsman and a right-arm leg-break bowler.... » «
In 1942 Dr Abu Baker Asvat was born in Johannesburg.
He obtained a medical degree in Pakistan. Because of apartheid he was not able to study medicine and qualify in South Africa.
In Pakistan he became sensitised to the issues of poverty. On his return to South Africa, he worked in the Departments of Medicine and Surgery at Coronation Hospital, and lived in Lenasia south of Johannesburg.
As a result of his expose of racial discrimination practices at the hospital, he was summarily dismissed by the provincial authorities.
Asvat promptly set up a practice in Soweto in defiance of the Group Areas Act and provided, at minimal cost, primary health care, with Mrs Albertina Sisulu as his nurse.
He rapidly acquired a reputation as the “people’s doctor”. With a medical and nursing team, he regularly travelled to rural areas with a mobile clinic providing free basic medical care including vaccination, dispensing of medications and referring seriously ill patients to hospital.
The Sowetan newspaper regularly featured a column by Dr Asvat in which he responded to readers’ medical questions. He wrote a comprehensive booklet on primary healthcare for the benefit of the underprivileged.
Regular community medical surveys were conducted among the poor, the handicapped, the hostel dwellers, and the children of Soweto. Results were publicised, much to the disquiet of the authorities. During the Soweto student uprisings, he regularly transported wounded students to his practice for treatment, disregarding his own safety. He cared selflessly for the poor, unemployed, homeless, sick, handicapped, and the families of political detainees.
Dr Asvat was awarded the Indicator Human Rights Award in 1989. His untimely murder on 27 January 1989 deprived South Africa of a son who would have made a huge humanitarian, medical and social contribution to the new South Africa.... » «
He obtained a medical degree in Pakistan. Because of apartheid he was not able to study medicine and qualify in South Africa.
In Pakistan he became sensitised to the issues of poverty. On his return to South Africa, he worked in the Departments of Medicine and Surgery at Coronation Hospital, and lived in Lenasia south of Johannesburg.
As a result of his expose of racial discrimination practices at the hospital, he was summarily dismissed by the provincial authorities.
Asvat promptly set up a practice in Soweto in defiance of the Group Areas Act and provided, at minimal cost, primary health care, with Mrs Albertina Sisulu as his nurse.
He rapidly acquired a reputation as the “people’s doctor”. With a medical and nursing team, he regularly travelled to rural areas with a mobile clinic providing free basic medical care including vaccination, dispensing of medications and referring seriously ill patients to hospital.
The Sowetan newspaper regularly featured a column by Dr Asvat in which he responded to readers’ medical questions. He wrote a comprehensive booklet on primary healthcare for the benefit of the underprivileged.
Regular community medical surveys were conducted among the poor, the handicapped, the hostel dwellers, and the children of Soweto. Results were publicised, much to the disquiet of the authorities. During the Soweto student uprisings, he regularly transported wounded students to his practice for treatment, disregarding his own safety. He cared selflessly for the poor, unemployed, homeless, sick, handicapped, and the families of political detainees.
Dr Asvat was awarded the Indicator Human Rights Award in 1989. His untimely murder on 27 January 1989 deprived South Africa of a son who would have made a huge humanitarian, medical and social contribution to the new South Africa.... » «
In 1943 Fietas, a western suburb of Johannesburg, was officially re-named Pageview after former mayor JJ Page. Until this point, the area was popularly known as Fietas. It was one of the oldest communities in Johannesburg, and one of the first multi-racial areas established under the government of Paul Kruger in 1893.
Fietas was an integrated community, not unlike District Six and Sophiatown, and was also destroyed by forced removals – as a result of the Group Areas Act.
Most inhabitants moved to Lenasia and Soweto between 1956 and 1977, and the area was declared “white”. This led to fierce resistance that continued into the 1980s.
A heritage route tour of the area now operates from the Market Theatre in Newtown, and ends in the Braamfontein cemetery, where tribute is paid to those who fought against apartheid legislation.... » «
Fietas was an integrated community, not unlike District Six and Sophiatown, and was also destroyed by forced removals – as a result of the Group Areas Act.
Most inhabitants moved to Lenasia and Soweto between 1956 and 1977, and the area was declared “white”. This led to fierce resistance that continued into the 1980s.
A heritage route tour of the area now operates from the Market Theatre in Newtown, and ends in the Braamfontein cemetery, where tribute is paid to those who fought against apartheid legislation.... » «
In 1974 Prime Minister John Vorster condemned, in the strongest terms, a gift of $450 000 announced by the World Council of Churches to southern African liberation movements.... » «
In 1977 Rhodesian Prime Minister Ian Smith announced major relaxations in race laws in an attempt to reach internal settlement with black leaders.... » «
In 1981 PW Botha said the Soviets would not prevent South Africa from attacking ANC bases in Mozambique. Regular cross-border raids that violated the sovereignty of its neighbouring countries in order to prop up the apartheid system drew strong condemnation by international governments.
The previous month, South African forces launched a raid into Matolo, Mozambique, to eliminate ANC personnel based there. This raid led to 23 people being killed including four South African soldiers taking part in the raid.
After the Matolo raid, the Soviet Union, an ally of Mozambique, sent two warships to Maputo as a sign of its commitment to the country.... » «
The previous month, South African forces launched a raid into Matolo, Mozambique, to eliminate ANC personnel based there. This raid led to 23 people being killed including four South African soldiers taking part in the raid.
After the Matolo raid, the Soviet Union, an ally of Mozambique, sent two warships to Maputo as a sign of its commitment to the country.... » «
In 1988 the UN Human Rights Commission adopted a resolution backing the armed struggle to eliminate apartheid.... » «
In 1989 police Commissioner Gen H G de Witt instructed station commanders not to arrest people breaking the Separate Amenities Act. Transgression of the act was now considered a minor offence.... » «
In 1997 the transition in the SA Defence Force was achieved with some difficulties. In a dispute between British military advisers and the commanders of the SANDF over the integration process, the British advisers accused the SANDF of delaying the integration of former guerrillas into its ranks.... » «
In 1998 former President PW Botha pleaded not guilty to contempt of court charges in George, Western Cape.
Botha incurred the charges after he had dishonoured the subpoenas issued to him to appear before the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, the body created to grant amnesty to people who had committed political crimes during the apartheid era.
Botha pleaded not guilty to the charges. Judge Laguju set the trial date for 14 April. He was convicted but the High Court later overturned the conviction.... » «
Botha incurred the charges after he had dishonoured the subpoenas issued to him to appear before the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, the body created to grant amnesty to people who had committed political crimes during the apartheid era.
Botha pleaded not guilty to the charges. Judge Laguju set the trial date for 14 April. He was convicted but the High Court later overturned the conviction.... » «
Allan MacLeod Cormack
Allan MacLeod Cormack was born in Johannesburg on 23 February 1924. He won the 1979 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine (along with Godfrey Hounsfield) for his work on x-ray computed tomography (CT).Cormack attended Rondebosch Boys' High in Cape Town, and completed his Bachelor of Science in physics in 1944 at the University of Cape Town. He completed his M.Sc. in crystallography in 1945 from the same institution.
Cormack was a research student at Cambridge University from 1947-49, and while at Cambridge he met his future wife, Barbara Seavey, an American physics student.
After marrying Seavey, he returned to the University of Cape Town in early 1950 to lecture.
Cormack became a professor at Tufts University near Boston in 1957. Although working on particle physics, Cormack's side interest in x-ray technology led him to develop the theoretical underpinnings of CT scanning.
This work was initiated at the University of Cape Town and Groote Schuur Hospital in early 1956 and continued briefly in mid-1957 after returning from a sabbatical at Harvard.
Godfrey Hounsfield and colleagues built the first CT scanner in 1971, taking Cormack's theoretical calculations into a real application. For their independent efforts, Cormack and Hounsfield shared the 1979 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine.
Cormack died of cancer in Massachusetts at age 74. He was posthumously awarded the Order of Mapungubwe on 10 December 2002, for outstanding achievements as a scientist and for co-inventing the CT scanner.
FYI: The Order of Mapungubwe is South Africa's highest honour, instituted on 6 December 2002, for achievements in the international area which have served South Africa's interests. The order is named after Mapungubwe, an ancient African nation which existed a thousand years ago in what is now the northern part of Limpopo province.
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