The following lists events that happened during

1896 Events January–March * January 2 – The Jameson Raid comes to an end, as Jameson surrenders to the Boers. * January 4 – Utah is admitted as the 45th U.S. state. * January 5 – An Austrian newspaper reports that Wil ...

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 The British office of high commissioner for Southern Africa was responsible for governing British possessions in Southern Africa, latterly the protectorates of Basutoland (now Lesotho), the Bechuanaland Protectorate (now Botswana) and Swaziland ...

Hercules Robinson Hercules George Robert Robinson, 1st Baron Rosmead, (19 December 1824 – 28 October 1897), was a British colonial administrator who became the 5th Governor of Hong Kong and subsequently, the 14th Governor of New South Wales, the first Gover ...

. * Governor of the Colony of Natal: Charles Bullen Hugh Mitchell. *

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 ...

Pieter Jeremias Blignaut Pieter Jeremias Blignaut (26 June 1841, in Paarl – 1 November 1909, in Bloemfontein) was a South African (Boer) civil servant, Government Secretary of the Orange Free State (1879–1902), and served twice as Acting State President, first ...

(until March 4),

Martinus Theunis Steyn Martinus (or Marthinus) Theunis Steyn (; 2 October 1857 – 28 November 1916) was a South African lawyer, politician, and politician, statesman. He was the sixth and last president of the independent republic the Orange Free State from 1896 to ...

(starting March 4). *

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 ...

Paul Kruger Stephanus Johannes Paulus Kruger (; 10 October 1825 – 14 July 1904) was a South African politician. He was one of the dominant political and military figures in 19th-century South Africa, and President of the South African Republic (or ...

. * Prime Minister of the Cape of Good Hope:

Cecil John Rhodes Cecil John Rhodes (5 July 1853 – 26 March 1902) was a British mining magnate and politician in southern Africa who served as Prime Minister of the Cape Colony from 1890 to 1896. An ardent believer in British imperialism, Rhodes and his Brit ...

(until January 13),

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 January 13). * Prime Minister of the Colony of Natal: .

Events

;January * 2 –

Leander Starr Jameson Sir Leander Starr Jameson, 1st Baronet, (9 February 1853 – 26 November 1917), was a British colonial politician, who was best known for his involvement in the ill-fated Jameson Raid. Early life and family He was born on 9 February 1853, of ...

and his forces surrender at Doornkop near

Krugersdorp Krugersdorp (Afrikaans for ''Kruger's Town'') is a mining city in the West Rand, Gauteng Province, South Africa founded in 1887 by Marthinus Pretorius. Following the discovery of gold on the Witwatersrand, a need arose for a major town in the west ...

. * 6 –

Cecil Rhodes Cecil John Rhodes (5 July 1853 – 26 March 1902) was a British mining magnate and politician in southern Africa who served as Prime Minister of the Cape Colony from 1890 to 1896. An ardent believer in British imperialism, Rhodes and his Br ...

is forced to resign as Prime Minister of the

Cape Colony The Cape Colony ( nl, Kaapkolonie), also known as the Cape of Good Hope, was a British Empire, British colony in present-day South Africa named after the Cape of Good Hope, which existed from 1795 to 1802, and again from 1806 to 1910, when i ...

for his involvement in the

Jameson Raid The Jameson Raid (29 December 1895 – 2 January 1896) was a botched Raid (military), raid against the South African Republic (commonly known as the Transvaal) carried out by British colonial administrator Leander Starr Jameson, under the emplo ...

. ;February * 19 – A train carrying 56 tons of

dynamite Dynamite is an explosive made of nitroglycerin, sorbents (such as powdered shells or clay), and Stabilizer (chemistry), stabilizers. It was invented by the Swedish people, Swedish chemist and engineer Alfred Nobel in Geesthacht, Northern Germa ...

explodes at

Braamfontein Braamfontein (English: ''blackberry spring'', or more prosaicly ''blackberry springs''; also known as Braam) is a central suburb of Johannesburg, in South Africa, seat of the Constitutional Court of South Africa and some of South Africa's major c ...

Johannesburg Johannesburg ( , , ; Zulu and xh, eGoli ), colloquially known as Jozi, Joburg, or "The City of Gold", is the largest city in South Africa, classified as a megacity, and is one of the 100 largest urban areas in the world. According to Demo ...

, killing more than 78 people.''The Great Dynamite Explosion'', report by Mr. J.G. Blumberg, Fairmount School, Johannesburg, excerpt from the autobiography of Dutch immigrant Jan de Veer who came to South Africa in 1893. ;May * 13 – The Franchise Bill is passed by

Natal NATAL or Natal may refer to: Places * Natal, Rio Grande do Norte, a city in Brazil * Natal, South Africa (disambiguation), a region in South Africa ** Natalia Republic, a former country (1839–1843) ** Colony of Natal, a former British colony ...

's Legislative Assembly, disfranchising natives of other countries. ;June * 5 –

Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi (; ; 2 October 1869 – 30 January 1948), popularly known as Mahatma Gandhi, was an Indian lawyer, Anti-colonial nationalism, anti-colonial nationalist Quote: "... marks Gandhi as a hybrid cosmopolitan figure ...

embarks from

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 ...

for

Calcutta Kolkata (, or , ; also known as Calcutta , List of renamed places in India#West Bengal, the official name until 2001) is the Capital city, capital of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of West Bengal, on the eastern ba ...

en route to

Bombay Mumbai (, ; also known as Bombay — the official name until 1995) is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra and the ''de facto'' financial centre of India. According to the United Nations, as of 2018, Mumbai is the second- ...

. ;August * 6 –

Cape Town Cape Town ( af, Kaapstad; , xh, iKapa) is one of South Africa's three capital cities, serving as the seat of the Parliament of South Africa. It is the legislative capital of the country, the oldest city in the country, and the second largest ...

's first electric tram service begins operation along Adderley Street to Mowbray Hill. ;December * 18 –

arrives back in

with his wife and two sons, but the ship is placed under a 5-day

quarantine A quarantine is a restriction on the movement of people, animals and goods which is intended to prevent the spread of disease or pests. It is often used in connection to disease and illness, preventing the movement of those who may have been ...

because

was declared a plague-infected port. Quarantine will later be extended to 13 January 1897. ;Unknown date * South Africa's first school of mines is opened in

Kimberley Kimberly or Kimberley may refer to: Places and historical events Australia * Kimberley (Western Australia) ** Roman Catholic Diocese of Kimberley * Kimberley Warm Springs, Tasmania * Kimberley, Tasmania a small town * County of Kimberley, a ...

. It will later form the core of the

University of the Witwatersrand The University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg (), is a multi-campus South African Public university, public research university situated in the northern areas of central Johannesburg. It is more commonly known as Wits University or Wits ( o ...

Births

* 12 January – Matthys Stefanus Benjamin Kritzinger, an

Afrikaans Afrikaans (, ) is a West Germanic language that evolved in the Dutch Cape Colony from the Dutch vernacular of Holland proper (i.e., the Hollandic dialect) used by Dutch, French, and German settlers and their enslaved people. Afrikaans gra ...

literator and

lexicographer Lexicography is the study of lexicons, and is divided into two separate academic disciplines. It is the art of compiling dictionaries. * Practical lexicography is the art or craft of compiling, writing and editing dictionaries. * Theoreti ...

, is born in the district of Carolina, Eastern

Transvaal Transvaal is a historical geographic term associated with land north of (''i.e.'', beyond) the Vaal River in South Africa. A number of states and administrative divisions have carried the name Transvaal. * South African Republic (1856–1902; af, ...

. * 1 February –

Stephanus Le Roux Marais Stephanus Le Roux Marais (1896 – 25 May 1979) was a South African composer. Marais was born in Bloemfontein district, Orange Free State. He studied at the South African College of Music in Cape Town and at the Royal College of Music in Lon ...

organist An organist is a musician who plays any type of organ (music), organ. An organist may play organ repertoire, solo organ works, play with an musical ensemble, ensemble or orchestra, or accompany one or more singers or instrumentalist, instrumental ...

teacher A teacher, also called a schoolteacher or formally an educator, is a person who helps students to acquire knowledge, competence, or virtue, via the practice of teaching. ''Informally'' the role of teacher may be taken on by anyone (e.g. whe ...

and

composer A composer is a person who writes music. The term is especially used to indicate composers of Western classical music, or those who are composers by occupation. Many composers are, or were, also skilled performers of music. Etymology and Defi ...

songs, is born in the district of

Bloemfontein Bloemfontein, ( ; , "fountain of flowers") also known as Bloem, is one of South Africa's three capital cities and the capital of the Free State (province), Free State province. It serves as the country's judicial capital, along with legisla ...

. * 1 February –

Ivan Mitford-Barberton Ivan Mitford-Barberton (1896–1976) was a sculptor, writer and authority on heraldry. Early life and education Mitford-Barberton was born in Somerset East, in Cape Colony, in 1896. He was a descendant of several 1820 Settler families. His g ...

art Art is a diverse range of human activity, and resulting product, that involves creative or imaginative talent expressive of technical proficiency, beauty, emotional power, or conceptual ideas. There is no generally agreed definition of wha ...

at the Michaelis School of Art in

and

sculptor Sculpture is the branch of the visual arts that operates in three dimensions. Sculpture is the three-dimensional art work which is physically presented in the dimensions of height, width and depth. It is one of the plastic arts. Durable sc ...

of several monuments in South Africa, is born in

Somerset East Somerset East ( af, Somerset-Oos) is a town in the Blue Crane Route Local Municipality in the Eastern Cape, South Africa. It was founded by Lord Charles Somerset in 1825. The Blue Crane Route follows the national road R63 from Pearston, via Som ...

. * April –

Clements Kadalie Clements Kadalie (1896 – 1951) was born Lameck Koniwaka Kadali Muwamba in Nyasaland (present-day Malawi). At age sixteen, he was a qualified teacher. He later settled in Cape Town, South Africa where he became South Africa's first black natio ...

trade unionist A trade union (labor union in American English), often simply referred to as a union, is an organization of workers intent on "maintaining or improving the conditions of their employment", ch. I such as attaining better wages and Employee ben ...

, is born at Chifira,

Nkhata Bay District Nkhata Bay is a district in the Northern Region of Malawi. The capital is Nkhata Bay. The district covers an area of 4,071 km.² and has a population of 164,761. Lake Malawi bounds the district on the east. The western portion of the distri ...

Nyasaland Nyasaland () was a British protectorate located in Africa that was established in 1907 when the former British Central Africa Protectorate changed its name. Between 1953 and 1963, Nyasaland was part of the Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasala ...

(now Malawi). * 3 May – Petrus Johannes Lemmer, composer of Afrikaans songs, is born in

Hartbeesfontein Hartbeesfontein, officially Lethabong, is a settlement near Klerksdorp, in the North West province of South Africa. It is situated at the intersection of the R503 and R507 routes. Geology The town is situated on an ancient geological feature kno ...

Deaths

* 17 September – Nicholaas Waterboer,

Griqua Griqua may refer to: * Griqua people * Griqua language or Xiri language * Griquas (rugby) Griquas (known as the Windhoek Draught Griquas for sponsorship reasons since April 2022) are a South African rugby union team that participates in the an ...

chief and eldest son of

Andries Waterboer Andries Waterboer (c.1789 - 1852) was a leader ("kaptijn") of the Griqua people. He founded the Waterboer dynasty of Griqualand West, and led to a split of the Griqua people, as the factions of the Kok and Barends dynasties migrated to the south ...

, dies in

Griekwastad Griekwastad is a country town in South Africa. It is sometimes still called Griquatown (the meaning of the town's name in Afrikaans), a name which is now considered historical. The town is in the Northern Cape Province of South Africa by road we ...

Railways

Railway lines opened

* 1 February – Cape Eastern –

Sterkstroom Sterkstroom is a settlement in Enoch Mgijima Local Municipality of the Chris Hani District in the Eastern Cape province of South Africa. The village is on the Hex River, at the southern foot of the Stormberg, 272 km north-west of East ...

Indwe Indwe is a small town in Chris Hani District Municipality near Dordrecht in the Eastern Cape province of South Africa. The town is situated between Dordrecht and Elliot on the R56 road. It was founded in 1896 as a centre for coal-mining activiti ...

, .''Statement Showing, in Chronological Order, the Date of Opening and the Mileage of Each Section of Railway'', Statement No. 19, p. 183, ref. no. 200954-13 * 1 April – Transvaal –

Kaapmuiden Kaapmuiden ''(Cape Mouth)'' is a small farming town situated at the confluence of the Kaap and Crocodile Rivers in Mpumalanga, South Africa. The town lies just off the N4 national highway and is marked by a large abandoned silo visible from the ...

to Barberton, . * 2 November – Transvaal –

Frederikstad Frederikstad is a hamlet in South Africa some 34 km south-west of Carletonville Carletonville is a town in Gauteng and the seat of the Merafong City Local Municipality in the West Rand District Municipality in Gauteng, South Africa, just ...

, .

Metropolitan & Suburban 4-6-2T Greenpoint

Locomotives

;Cape * Two new Cape gauge 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 of a second batch of fifty 6th Class

4-6-0 A 4-6-0 steam locomotive, under the Whyte notation for the classification of steam locomotives by wheel arrangement, has four leading wheels on two axles in a leading bogie and six powered and coupled driving wheels on three axles with the abse ...

steam locomotive A steam locomotive is a locomotive that provides the force to move itself and other vehicles by means of the expansion of steam. It is fuelled by burning combustible material (usually coal, oil or, rarely, wood) to heat water in the locomot ...

s. In 1912 they would be designated

Class 6A Class or The Class may refer to: Common uses not otherwise categorized * Class (biology), a taxonomic rank * Class (knowledge representation), a collection of individuals or objects * Class (philosophy), an analytical concept used differently ...

on the South African Railways (SAR). ** The first of a second batch of forty-six 7th Class

4-8-0 Under the Whyte notation for the classification of steam locomotives, represents the wheel arrangement of four leading wheels on two axles, usually in a leading truck or bogie, eight powered and coupled driving wheels on four axles and no traili ...

Mastodon type locomotives on the Midland and Eastern Systems. In 1912 they would be designated Class 7A on the SAR. * Two 4-6-2 Pacific type tank locomotives enter service on the Metropolitan and Suburban Railway that operates a suburban passenger service between Cape Town and Sea Point. ;Free State * The Oranje-Vrijstaat Gouwerment-Spoorwegen places the first of twenty-four new Cape 6th Class steam locomotives in service. In 1912 they would be designated Class 6C on the SAR. ;Natal * The

Natal Government Railways The Natal Government Railways (NGR) was formed in January 1877 in the Colony of Natal. In 1877, the Natal Government Railways acquired the Natal Railway Company for the sum of £40,000, gaining the line from the Point to Durban and from Durban ...

(NGR) rebuilds one of its Class G tank locomotives to the first

4-6-4 Under the Whyte notation for the classification of locomotives, represents the wheel arrangement of four leading wheels, six powered and coupled driving wheels and four trailing wheels. In France where the type was first used, it is known as t ...

Baltic type locomotive in the world. It was later designated the NGR Class H. ;Transvaal * The independent Pretoria-Pietersburg Railway in the

Zuid-Afrikaansche Republiek The South African Republic ( nl, Zuid-Afrikaansche Republiek, abbreviated ZAR; af, Suid-Afrikaanse Republiek), also known as the Transvaal Republic, was an independent Boer Republic in Southern Africa which existed from 1852 to 1902, when it ...

(Transvaal Republic) places the first of three saddle-tank locomotives in service.

References

{{Africa topic, 1896 in, state=collapsed

Years in South Africa