The following lists events that happened during

1879 Events January–March * January 1 – The Specie Resumption Act takes effect. The United States Note is valued the same as gold, for the first time since the American Civil War. * January 11 – The Anglo-Zulu War begins. * Janu ...

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...

Incumbents

* Governor of the Cape of Good Hope and High Commissioner for Southern Africa: Henry Barkly. * Lieutenant-governor of the Colony of Natal:

Henry Ernest Gascoyne Bulwer Sir Henry Ernest Gascoyne Bulwer, (11 December 1836 – 30 September 1914), the nephew of Sir Henry Lytton Bulwer and brother to Edward Earle Gascoyne Bulwer, was a British colonial administrator and diplomat. Bulwer was educated at Charterh ...

. *

State President of the Orange Free State This is a list of State Presidents of the Orange Free State. List Last election See also *State President of the South African Republic External links Archontology.org: Orange Free State: Heads of State: 1854–1902 {{DEFAULTSORT:Stat ...

Jan Brand Sir Johannes Henricus Brand, (popularly known as Sir Jan Brand and sometimes as Sir John Henry Brand or Jan Henrick Brand; 6 December 1823 – 14 July 1888) was a South African lawyer and politician who served as the fourth state presiden ...

. *

State President of the South African Republic This is a list of State Presidents of the South African Republic (Before 1866 nl, President van de Zuid-Afrikaansche Republiek and after 1866 nl, Staatspresident der Zuid-Afrikaansche Republiek). The country was referred as the ''Transvaal R ...

: vacant. * Lieutenant-Governor of Griqualand West: William Owen Lanyon (until March), James Rose Innes (starting March). * Prime Minister of the Cape of Good Hope: John Charles Molteno (until February),

John Gordon Sprigg Sir John Gordon Sprigg, (27 April 1830 – 4 February 1913) was an English-born colonial administrator, politician and four-time prime minister of the Cape Colony. Early life Sprigg was born in Ipswich, England, into a strongly Puritan fami ...

(starting February).

Events

;January * 11 – Britain declares war against the Zulus and launches the

Anglo-Zulu War The Anglo-Zulu War was fought in 1879 between the British Empire and the Zulu Kingdom. Following the passing of the British North America Act of 1867 forming a federation in Canada, Lord Carnarvon thought that a similar political effort, coupl ...

after an ultimatum issued on 11 December 1878 is rejected. * 22 – The Zulus wipe out British forces in the

Battle of Isandlwana The Battle of Isandlwana (alternative spelling: Isandhlwana) on 22 January 1879 was the first major encounter in the Anglo-Zulu War between the British Empire and the Zulu Kingdom. Eleven days after the British commenced their invasion of Zulul ...

. * 22-23 – The British prevail against a Zulu attack in the Battle of Rorke's Drift. ;March * 7 – The first British troops arrive in

Durban Durban ( ) ( zu, eThekwini, from meaning 'the port' also called zu, eZibubulungwini for the mountain range that terminates in the area), nicknamed ''Durbs'',Ishani ChettyCity nicknames in SA and across the worldArticle on ''news24.com'' from ...

from all over the Empire. * 12 – A force of 2,000 Zulus attacks a British camp at Ntombi River. Of the 60 men in the camp, only 15 escape. ;July * 4 – The Zulus are defeated at Ulundi and the war ends. ;August * 28 – The Zulu King Cetshwayo is captured.

Births

Deaths

* 4 May –

William Froude William Froude (; 28 November 1810 in Devon – 4 May 1879 in Simonstown, South Africa) was an English engineer, hydrodynamicist and naval architect. He was the first to formulate reliable laws for the resistance that water offers to ships (suc ...

, engineer, hydrodynamicist and naval architect, dies in

Simon's Town Simon's Town ( af, Simonstad), sometimes spelled Simonstown, is a town in the Western Cape, South Africa and is home to Naval Base Simon's Town, the South African Navy's largest base. It is located on the shores of False Bay, on the eastern sid ...

* 1 June – Napoléon Eugène, Prince Imperial is killed in action when ambushed by Zulus during the

Railways

Railway lines opened

* March – Natal – Pinetown to

Botha's Hill Botha's Hill (locally , ) is a small town outside Hillcrest in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. It remains a peaceful beautiful hill where regular country style food and craft markets are held. It is the gateway to the Valley of a Thousand Hills. Ke ...

, .''Statement Showing, in Chronological Order, the Date of Opening and the Mileage of Each Section of Railway'', Statement No. 19, p. 181, ref. no. 200954-13 * 11 August – Cape Western – Grootfontein to Fraserburg Road, .''Report for year ending 31 December 1909'', Cape Government Railways, Section VIII - Dates of Opening and the Length of the different Sections in the Cape Colony, from the Year 1873 to 31st December, 1909. * 26 August – Cape Midland – Mount Stewart to Graaff-Reinet, . * 1 September – Natal – Avoca to Verulam, . * 3 September – Cape Midland –

Alicedale Alicedale is a small settlement in Sarah Baartman District Municipality in the Eastern Cape province of South Africa, situated on the banks of the Bushmans River. Railway History Alicedale is a railway junction on the main railway line betwe ...

Grahamstown Makhanda, also known as Grahamstown, is a town of about 140,000 people in the Eastern Cape province of South Africa. It is situated about northeast of Port Elizabeth and southwest of East London, Eastern Cape, East London. Makhanda is the lar ...

, . * 17 September – Cape Midland –

to Middleton, . * 3 November – Cape Eastern –

Döhne Döhne is a South African agricultural research station 6 kilometres north of Stutterheim in the Eastern Cape. It is noted for having developed the Döhne Merino from Peppin Merino ewes and German mutton merino sires in 1939. The program bred for ...

to Cathcart, .

Locomotives

;Cape * Two new locomotive types enter service on the

Cape Government Railways The Cape Government Railways (CGR) was the government-owned railway operator in the Cape Colony from 1874 until the creation of the South African Railways (SAR) in 1910. History Private railways The first railways at the Cape were privately own ...

(CGR): ** The first four of fifteen 1st Class 4-4-0 American type passenger locomotives on the Western and Eastern systems.''C.G.R. Numbering Revised'', Article by Dave Littley, SA Rail May–June 1993, pp. 94–95. ** The first six of ten 1st Class 2-6-0 Mogul type goods locomotives on the Western system. * The Table Bay Harbour Board places its fourth Brunel gauge 0-4-0 well-tank engine in excavation and breakwater construction service. ;Natal * The Natal Government Railways places seven locomotives in service, later to be modified to a wheel arrangement and designated Class G. NGR Class G numbering * The Natal Harbours Department in

places a single saddle-tank locomotive in service, named ''John Milne''.

References

{{Africa topic, 1879 in, state=collapsed

Years in South Africa