30 August – 5 September Cleopatra VII, the last Pharaoh of Egypt, commits suicide; Rommel gives up on his quest to take the Suez Canal; and Danie Theron, a true Afrikaner ... Read More

Many South Africans are the descendents of slaves brought to the Cape Colony from 1653 until 1822. Trace the history of slavery at the Cape through this timeline.

23 – 29 August Kenneth David Kaunda wins Zambian elections; Louis Botha, Boer War hero and first prime minister of the Union of South Africa, dies; and William Edward Burghardt du ... Read More

The former Ugandan dictator, Idi Amin Dada, known as the 'Butcher of Uganda' for his brutal rule whilst president in the 1970s, died in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia on 16 August ... Read More

Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela was born on 18 July 1918 in the small village of Mvezo, on the Mbashe River, district of Umtata in Transkei, South Africa. His Father named him ... Read More

16 – 22 August Walvis Bay, South Africa's last colonial possession in Africa, is to be handed over to Namibia, Jomo Kenyatta is released from detention at the age of 71, ... Read More

9 – 15 AugustDr Allan Boesak is arrested in South Africa; Chad (formally known as Tchad) and Congo-Brazzaville achieve independence from France; and US marines open fire on 3,000 Somali ... Read More

2 – 8 AugustAn assassination attempt on President Kwame Nkrumah of Ghana fails, US marines are sent into Liberia to rescue US citizens from the growing civil war, and UN ... Read More