1968 in South Africa
Encyclopedia
January
- 10 January - Jacobus Johannes FouchéJacobus Johannes FouchéJacobus Johannes Fouché served as the second President of South Africa from 1968 to 1975.Born in the Boer republic of the Orange Free State , Fouché was a successful farmer...
becomes the 3rd State President of South AfricaState President of South AfricaState President, or Staatspresident in Afrikaans, was the title of South Africa's head of state from 1961 to 1994. The office was established when the country became a republic in 1961, and Queen Elizabeth II ceased to be head of state...
April
- 20 April - A South African AirwaysSouth African AirwaysSouth African Airways is the national flag carrier and largest airline of South Africa, with headquarters in Airways Park on the grounds of OR Tambo International Airport in Kempton Park, Ekurhuleni, Gauteng. The airline flies to 36 destinations worldwide from its hub at OR Tambo International...
Boeing 707Boeing 707The Boeing 707 is a four-engine narrow-body commercial passenger jet airliner developed by Boeing in the early 1950s. Its name is most commonly pronounced as "Seven Oh Seven". The first airline to operate the 707 was Pan American World Airways, inaugurating the type's first commercial flight on...
crashes just after take-off from WindhoekWindhoekWindhoek is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Namibia. It is located in central Namibia in the Khomas Highland plateau area, at around above sea level. The 2001 census determined Windhoek's population was 233,529...
en route to London killing 122 out of the 129 onboard. - 30 April - The bill establishing five universities for Blacks comes into force
Unknown date
- The Liberal Party of South Africa is banned by the government
- Dorothy Nyembe is arrested for the second time and charged under the Suppression of Communism Act
- Villa Peri campaign by Azanian People's Liberation ArmyAzanian People's Liberation ArmyThe Azanian People's Liberation Army was the military wing of the Pan Africanist Congress in South Africa. It was originally called Poqo.-History:...
, the military wing of the Pan Africanist Congress tries to infiltrate members into South Africa via BotswanaBotswanaBotswana, officially the Republic of Botswana , is a landlocked country located in Southern Africa. The citizens are referred to as "Batswana" . Formerly the British protectorate of Bechuanaland, Botswana adopted its new name after becoming independent within the Commonwealth on 30 September 1966...
and MozambiqueMozambiqueMozambique, officially the Republic of Mozambique , is a country in southeastern Africa bordered by the Indian Ocean to the east, Tanzania to the north, Malawi and Zambia to the northwest, Zimbabwe to the west and Swaziland and South Africa to the southwest... - South African Bureau of State SecuritySouth African Bureau of State SecurityThe South African Bureau for State Security was established in 1969 and replaced by the National Intelligence Service in 1980. The Bureau's job was to monitor national security...
is formed and operates independently of South African PoliceSouth African PoliceThe South African Police was the country's police force until 1994. The SAP traced its origin to the Dutch Watch, a paramilitary organization formed by settlers in the Cape in 1655, initially to protect civilians against attack and later to maintain law and order...
and is accountable to the Prime Minister
Births
- 28 April - Andy FlowerAndy FlowerAndrew "Andy" Flower OBE is a former international cricketer for Zimbabwe and is currently the England coach.-Playing career:...
, a ZimbabweZimbabweZimbabwe is a landlocked country located in the southern part of the African continent, between the Zambezi and Limpopo rivers. It is bordered by South Africa to the south, Botswana to the southwest, Zambia and a tip of Namibia to the northwest and Mozambique to the east. Zimbabwe has three...
Test cricketTest cricketTest cricket is the longest form of the sport of cricket. Test matches are played between national representative teams with "Test status", as determined by the International Cricket Council , with four innings played between two teams of 11 players over a period of up to a maximum five days...
player, is born in 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...
Deaths
- Andrew Motjuoadi, artistArtistAn artist is a person engaged in one or more of any of a broad spectrum of activities related to creating art, practicing the arts and/or demonstrating an art. The common usage in both everyday speech and academic discourse is a practitioner in the visual arts only...
, dies as a result of a strokeStrokeA stroke, previously known medically as a cerebrovascular accident , is the rapidly developing loss of brain function due to disturbance in the blood supply to the brain. This can be due to ischemia caused by blockage , or a hemorrhage... - 8 January - Professor James SmithJames Leonard Brierley SmithJames Leonard Brierley Smith, known as J.L.B. Smith was a South African ichthyologist, organic chemist and university professor. He was the first to identify a taxidermied fish as a coelacanth, at the time thought long extinct.-Early life:Born in Graaff Reinet, Smith was the elder of two sons of...
, an ichthyologistIchthyologyIchthyology is the branch of zoology devoted to the study of fish. This includes skeletal fish , cartilaginous fish , and jawless fish...
who became the first person to identify a captured fish as a coelacanthCoelacanthCoelacanths are members of an order of fish that includes the oldest living lineage of Sarcopterygii known to date....
, dies in GrahamstownGrahamstownGrahamstown is a city in the Eastern Cape Province of the Republic of South Africa and is the seat of the Makana municipality. The population of greater Grahamstown, as of 2003, was 124,758. The population of the surrounding areas, including the actual city was 41,799 of which 77.4% were black,...
at the age of 70 - 17 February - Julian Motau, artist, is murdered in AlexandraAlexandra, GautengAlexandra or Alex for short, nicknamed Gomora is a township located in Gauteng province, South Africa. It is part of Johannesburg, close to the wealthy suburb of Sandton and is bounded by Wynberg on the west, Marlboro and Kelvin on the north, Kew, Lombardy West and Lombardy East on the south...