Vast swathes of KwaZulu-Natal were at the mercy of Mother Nature.
Image: Delwyn Verasamy
“To live is to suffer, to survive is to find some meaning in the suffering.” | Friedrich Nietzsche
Your brain uses about 20% of your body’s energy.
1688 The first French Huguenots arrive at the Cape. Most of the newcomers settle in Franschhoek (literally “French Corner”), Paarl, and Stellenbosch. Many names were phonetically adapted into Dutch/Afrikaans spelling, such as Du Pré → Du Preez, Pinard → Pienaar, and Villion → Viljoen. Other well-known surnames with Huguenot heritage include Theron, Blignaut, Cronje (from Cronier), Fouché, Giliomee, Lombard, and Naudé.
1816 The first mail boat from London, the Eclipse, arrives in Table Bay after a 114-day voyage.
1838 Voortrekker leader Louis Trichardt reaches Lourenço Marques after leaving the Zoutpansberg in August of the previous year.
1846 Xhosa forces attack British troops at Burn’s Hill in the Amatola Mountains of the Eastern Cape during the War of the Axe.
1909 Sir Donald Currie, philanthropist, shipping magnate (Union-Castle Line founder), and donor of the Currie Cup trophies for cricket, rugby, soccer, swimming, and water polo, dies in Sidmouth, Devon, England. His shipping company builds the Mount Nelson Hotel in Cape Town. His daughters later erect a hall in his memory at the University of Cape Town at a cost of £25,000.
1964 Sidney Poitier becomes the first Black man to win the Academy Award for Best Actor.
1979 The longest doubles table tennis match ends after 101 hours.
2022 At least 459 people are killed after heavy rains and flooding batter KwaZulu-Natal. More than 300 mm of rain falls in 24 hours. Over 4,000 homes are destroyed, 40,000 people are left homeless, and total damage is estimated at R36 billion.
2024 Iran launches 300 drones and missiles at Israel in retaliation for the bombing of its Damascus embassy. Most are intercepted and shot down.
2024 Six people are killed in a stabbing attack at a shopping mall in Sydney, Australia. The attacker is shot dead by police.
2025 The MacLean brothers—Ewan (32), Jamie (31), and Lachlan (27) of Scotland—set off from Lima, Peru, in a bid to row across the Pacific Ocean for charity to raise funds for clean water access in Madagascar. Their 139-day journey ends in Cairns, Queensland, Australia, in September.
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