1948 in South Africa explained

The following lists events that happened during 1948 in South Africa.

Incumbents

• Monarch: King George VI.
• Governor-General and High Commissioner for Southern Africa: Gideon Brand van Zyl.
• Prime Minister: Jan Christiaan Smuts (until 4 June), Daniel François Malan (starting 4 June).
• Chief Justice: Ernest Frederick Watermeyer.

Events

January

• 4  - Prince Edward Island is annexed.^[1]

March

• 13  - Dr. K. Goonam leads a batch of twelve passive resisters across the Natal-Transvaal border.

May

• 26  - The National Party wins the General Elections in coalition with the Afrikaner Party (AP).
• 28  - The National Party forms a new South African government as incumbent prime minister Jan Smuts loses his seat.

June

• 4  - Daniel François Malan is elected the 4th Prime Minister of South Africa.
• 12  - The first Rembrandt cigarettes are manufactured.

September

• 8  - A group of 83 German children, orphaned by the war, arrives in Table Bay.
• 10  - The German orphans reach Pretoria to settle in South Africa.

October

• 15  - Foreign Minister Eric Louw informs Commonwealth leaders that South Africa is not prepared to allow interference in its domestic affairs.

Births

• 27 January  - Irvin Khoza, football administrator, chairman of Orlando Pirates F.C., president of the Premier Soccer League
• 2 February  - Mluleki George, politician.
• 10 February  - Paul Slabolepszy, actor and playwright.
• 24 June  - Dave Orchard, cricketer.
• 9 July  - Jeanne Zaidel-Rudolph, composer, pianist and teacher.
• 18 July  - Graham Spanier, 16th President of Pennsylvania State University
• 27 July  - Goodwill Zwelithini kaBhekuzulu, King of the Zulu.
• 27 July  - Gavin Watson, businessman (d. 2019).
• 30 July  - John Briscoe, South African-American epidemiologist, engineer, and academic (d. 2014)
• 5 September  - Pumza Dyantyi, politician and anti-apartheid activist (d. 2020)
• 17 October  - S'bu Ndebele, politician, government minister
• 25 October  - Lauritz Dippenaar, self made millionaire businessman, investor and banker who was the Chairman of FirstRand financial Group.
• 10 December  - Thamsanga Mnyele, artist and activist. (d. 1985)
• 13 December
  • Lillian Board, South African-born English Olympic athlete. (d. 1970)
  • William Flynn, actor and comedian, (d. 2007)

Deaths

• 2 February  - Bevil Rudd, athlete. (b. 1894)
• 25 February  - Alexander du Toit, geologist. (b. 1878)
• 3 December  - Jan Hofmeyr, Prime Minister of South Africa. (b. 1894)

Railways

Railway lines opened

• 7 June  - Free State: Whites to Odendaalsrus, 24miles.^[2]

Sports

• South Africa at the 1948 Summer Olympics
• English cricket team in South Africa in 1948–49

References

DROLE NON

Notes and References

1. Web site: Marion Island – History . Sanap.ac.za . 2012-10-09 . https://web.archive.org/web/20170724154513/http://www.sanap.ac.za/sanap_marion/marion_history.html . 24 July 2017 . dead.
2. Statement Showing, in Chronological Order, the Date of Opening and the Mileage of Each Section of Railway, Statement No. 19, p. 191, ref. no. 200954-13