The following lists events that happened during 1939 in South Africa.

Incumbents

Governor-General Governor-general (plural ''governors-general''), or governor general (plural ''governors general''), is the title of an office-holder. In the context of governors-general and former British colonies, governors-general are appointed as viceroy t ...

and High Commissioner for Southern Africa:

Sir Patrick Duncan Sir Patrick Duncan, (21 December 1870 – 17 July 1943) was the sixth Governor-General of the Union of South Africa, holding office from 1937 until his death in 1943. Early life Born in Scotland in 1870, he took degrees in classics at the Univ ...

(starting 5 April). * Prime Minister: James Barry Munnik Hertzog (until 5 September), Jan Christiaan Smuts (starting 5 September). * Chief Justice:

James Stratford James Stratford, PC (19 July 1869 – 17 January 1952) was a South African judge who briefly served as the Chief Justice of the Union of South Africa between 1938 and 1939. Background Born in Port Elizabeth, Stratford was educated at St ...

Events

;September * 2 – J. B. M. Hertzog puts his case to the National Assembly for South Africa to remain neutral in the Second World War, against Jan Smuts who supports a Commonwealth alliance. * 4 – Jan Smuts becomes the 4th

Prime Minister of South Africa The prime minister of South Africa ( af, Eerste Minister van Suid-Afrika) was the head of government in South Africa between 1910 and 1984. History of the office The position of Prime Minister was established in 1910, when the Union of Sout ...

for the second time. * 5 – The National Assembly votes on a motion whether or not to join the war and Jan Smuts wins by 13 votes. * 6 – The Union of South Africa declares war on Germany. ;Unknown date * The University of Pretoria's official university newspaper, Die Perdeby, is established.

Births

* 6 March – Lina Spies, Afrikaans poet and academic. * 18 March –

John W. de Gruchy John W. de Gruchy (born 18 March 1939) is a Christian theology, Christian theologian known for his work Internal resistance to apartheid, resisting apartheid. He is presently Emeritus Professor at the University of Cape Town and Extraordinary prof ...

, academic. * 25 March –

Pius Langa Pius Nkonzo Langa Order of the Baobab, SCOB (25 March 1939 – 24 July 2013) was Chief Justice of South Africa, serving on the Constitutional Court of South Africa, Constitutional Court. He was appointed to the bench in 1994 by Nelson Mandela, h ...

, Chief Justice of the

Constitutional Court of South Africa The Constitutional Court of South Africa is a supreme court, supreme constitutional court established by the Constitution of South Africa, and is the apex court in the South African judicial system, with general jurisdiction. The Court was fi ...

. * 4 April – Hugh Masekela, jazz musician. (d. 2018) * 21 June –

Essop Pahad Essop Goolam Pahad (born 21 June 1939) is a retired South African politician. He served as the Minister in the Presidency from 1999 to 2008. Early life Pahad was born in Schweizer-Reneke in the former Transvaal Province. He is an alumnus of bo ...

, politician. * 7 July – Gilbert Ramano, military commander. * 12 August – David King, chemist * 14 September –

Mary Twala Mary Kuksie Twala (14 September 1939 – 4 July 2020) was a South African actress. In 2011, she was nominated for Africa Movie Academy Award for Best Actress in a Supporting Role. Career Twala featured in several South African local productio ...

, actress, mother of TV personality, Somizi Mhlongo (d. 2020) * 19 September –

Caiphus Semenya Caiphus Semenya (born 19 August 1939) is a South African composer and musician. He was born in Alexandra, Gauteng, Johannesburg, South Africa. He left South Africa for Los Angeles, California, United States, in the 1960s, together with his wife ...

, composer and musician. * 27 September –

Lydia Mokgokoloshi Lydia Mokgokoloshi (born 27 September 1939) is a South African actress, best known for her role as Koko Mantsha and the mother of Charity Ramabu and grandmother of Katlego (Kat) and Joseph(Jojo) in the SABC 1 soap, ''Skeem Saam''. Her most nota ...

, actress * 16 September – Breyten Breytenbach, writer and painter. * 16 October –

Tertius Delport Jacobus Tertius Delport (16 October 1939 – 21 November 2023) was a South African academic, lawyer, and politician. Delport was elected a member of Parliament for the National Party in 1987. In 1990, he joined the government as Deputy Minist ...

, lawyer and politician (d. 2023) * 26 October –

Karel Schoeman Karel Schoeman (, 26 October 1939 – 1 May 2017) was a South African novelist, historian, translator and man of letters. Author of twenty novels and numerous works of history, he was one of South Africa's most honoured writers. Schoeman wrote ...

, novelist (d.

2017 File:2017 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The War Against ISIS at the Battle of Mosul (2016-2017); aftermath of the Manchester Arena bombing; The Solar eclipse of August 21, 2017 ("Great American Eclipse"); North Korea tests a ser ...

) * 25 November – Janette Deacon, archaeologist specialising in rock art conservation

Deaths

* 16 October – Charlotte Maxeke, religious leader and political activist. (b. 1871)

Railways

Locomotives

The first two diesel-electric locomotive types enter service on the South African Railways (SAR): * A single Class DS

AEG Allgemeine Elektricitäts-Gesellschaft AG (AEG; ) was a German producer of electrical equipment founded in Berlin as the ''Deutsche Edison-Gesellschaft für angewandte Elektricität'' in 1883 by Emil Rathenau. During the Second World War, AEG ...

shunting engine enters service at the Congella yards near Durban. * A second shunting locomotive, the Class DS1, enters SAR service while another is delivered to the Electricity Supply Commission. * The Hollandse Anneming Maatschappij, constructors of a new Table Bay harbour, imports a small locomotive as on-site construction engine, later employed as SAR dock shunter.Railway History Group of Southern Africa, Bulletin no. 114, January 2013: Notes on Cape Town Harbour Extension Contracts, by John Middleton
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Sports

* 3 March – In Durban, the Timeless Test begins between England and South Africa, the longest game of cricket ever played. It is abandoned twelve days later when the English team has to catch the ship for home.

References

{{Africa topic, 1939 in, state=collapsed History of South Africa