Events

• 4 January - Outbreak of smallpox
  Smallpox
  Smallpox was an infectious disease unique to humans, caused by either of two virus variants, Variola major and Variola minor. The disease is also known by the Latin names Variola or Variola vera, which is a derivative of the Latin varius, meaning "spotted", or varus, meaning "pimple"...
  
   is reported in the Malay Location, Johannesburg
  Johannesburg
  Johannesburg also known as Jozi, Jo'burg or Egoli, is the largest city in South Africa, by population. Johannesburg is the provincial capital of Gauteng, the wealthiest province in South Africa, having the largest economy of any metropolitan region in Sub-Saharan Africa...
  
  
• 8 January - The South African Native National Congress
  African National Congress
  The African National Congress is South Africa's governing Africanist political party, supported by its tripartite alliance with the Congress of South African Trade Unions and the South African Communist Party , since the establishment of non-racial democracy in April 1994. It defines itself as a...
  
   is formed in Bloemfontein
  Bloemfontein
  Bloemfontein is the capital city of the Free State Province of South Africa; and, as the judicial capital of the nation, one of South Africa's three national capitals – the other two being Cape Town, the legislative capital, and Pretoria, the administrative capital.Bloemfontein is popularly and...
  
   and John Langalibalele Dube
  John Langalibalele Dube
  John Langalibalele Dube was a South African essayist, philosopher, educator, politician, publisher, editor, novelist and poet. He was the founding president of the South African Native National Congress which became the African National Congress in 1923...
  
   becomes the first president
• 15 February - The Mkuze Game Reserve
  Mkuze Game Reserve
  Mkhuze Game Reserve is a game reserve in northern Zululand, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. It was proclaimed a protected area on 15 February 1912....
  
   is proclaimed a protected area
• 16 January - Cases of smallpox is discovered in Durban
  Durban
  Durban is the largest city in the South African province of KwaZulu-Natal and the third largest city in South Africa. It forms part of the eThekwini metropolitan municipality. Durban is famous for being the busiest port in South Africa. It is also seen as one of the major centres of tourism...
  
  
• 30 November - The South Africa (Springboks)
  South Africa national rugby union team
  The South African national rugby union team are 2009 British and Irish Lions Series winners. They are currently ranked as the fourth best team in the IRB World Rankings and were named 2008 World Team of the Year at the prestigious Laureus World Sports Awards.Although South Africa was instrumental...
  
    beat Ireland
  Ireland national rugby union team
  The Ireland national rugby union team represents the island of Ireland in rugby union. The team competes annually in the Six Nations Championship and every four years in the Rugby World Cup, where they reached the quarter-final stage in all but two competitions The Ireland national rugby union...
  
   38-0 in Ireland
  Ireland
  Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
  
  

Unknown date

• The shield of the coat of arms on the Red Ensign
  Red Ensign
  The Red Ensign or "Red Duster" is a flag that originated in the early 17th century as a British ensign flown by the Royal Navy and later specifically by British merchantmen. The precise date of its first appearance is not known, but surviving receipts indicate that the Navy was paying to have such...
  
   used in South Africa is redesigned
  Flag of South Africa
  The current flag of the Republic of South Africa was adopted on 27 April 1994, at the beginning of the 1994 general election, to replace the flag that had been used since 1928...
  
   to include a white roundel.

Deaths

• January - Abdoolla Hajee Adam, founder-president of Natal Indian Congress
  Natal Indian Congress
  The Natal Indian Congress was an organization that aimed to fight discrimination against Indians in South Africa. The Natal Indian Congress was started by Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi, later known as the Mahatma...
  
  , dies
• 21 May - Sir Julius Wernher
  Julius Wernher
  Sir Julius Charles Wernher, 1st Baronet was a German-born Randlord and art collector who became part of the English establishment.-Life history:...
  
  , financier and mine magnate, dies in London
  London
  London 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 the age of 62