Timeline
1806 - Gold is indicated to be in the approximate vicinity of either the Witwatersrand or the Magaliesberge.
1852 - Gold is found near Krugersdorp.
1853 - Discovery alluvial gold in the Jukskei River.
1884 - The Struben brothers find the Confidence Reef north of present-day Roodepoort.
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| Langlaagte, the farm where gold was first discovered. Wikipedia. History of Johannesburg. |
1887 - An official market is opened on Market Square.
1888 - The first telephones are installed on the Rand.
1889 - ZAR Government establish a tramway system network.
1890 - The first Hospital building is opened.
1891 - Six kilometres of tramway track are opened in Johannesburg with a terminus located in Fordsburg.
1892 - The first train from the Cape reaches Johannesburg.
1893 - An outbreak of a smallpox epidemic affects those living in Johannesburg.
1894 - A bye-law is passed prohibiting ‘Natives’ from using the Johannesburg city pavements.
1895 - The railway line linking Johannesburg to Durban is opened.
1896 - A shunting locomotive reverses into two railway trucks containing 1955 tons of dynamite on a siding in Braamfontein.
1897 - The first motorcar drives through Johannesburg.
1898 - The Rissik Street Post Office is opened.
1899 - Outbreak of hostilities between Britain and the ZAR.
1900 - Johannesburg is shaken by a large explosion, at the sabotaged Begbie's Iron Foundry.
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| Begbie's Foundry. Johannesburg Heritage Plaques. |
1902 - A peace treaty is signed in Pretoria, officially bringing hostilities to an end.
1903 - The Rand Water Board is established. The area of Johannesburg increases to 211 square kilometres.
1904 - Outbreak of bubonic plague at the Johannesburg Brickfields leads to the removal of its residents to a sanitary camp at Klipspruit.
1905 - The Native Affairs Commission criticises the living conditions that Johannesburg's Black citizens are forced to live under.
1906 - Pass Laws for Indians are promulgated in the Transvaal. Johannesburg's horse drawn trams are replaced by electrically powered units.
1907 - Elections are held for the first Transvaal Parliament.
1908 - The Indigency Commission criticises living conditions of Johannesburg's Black citizens.
1909 - The Johannesburg Municipal Commission urges that surveyed land be made available to 'natives' and other 'non-Europeans'.
1910 - The Union of South Africa comes into being despite the strong objections.
1911 - Johannesburg's tramway workers refuse to begin services, the first of many labour disputes which resulted in the General Strike of 1922.
1912 - The South African Native National Congress (SANNC) is formed in Bloemfontein.
1913 - White miners declare a strike at the New Kleinfontein mine. Industrial action spreads and by July the miners are preparing to declare a general strike.
1914 - The Railwaymen's Union orders a strike.
1915 - Johannesburg's’ new Town Hall is used for the first time.
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| New Town Hall. Postcard. |
1918 - 152 strikers are arrested and sentenced to two months hard labour for breach of contract under the 'Masters and Servants Act'.
1919 - Around 70, 000 Black miners go on a peaceful strike, government troops break up workers' meetings, killing 11 people.
1920 - Black miners go on strike. Riots break out.
1922 - White coal miners go on strike. The University of the Witwatersrand is inaugurated.
1923 - First official radio broadcast takes place in Johannesburg. The ‘Native Act' is passed.
1924 - Extensions to the Western Native Township are begun.
1925 - The Prince of Wales, later King Edward VIII, visits Johannesburg.
1926 - The Eastern Native Township is also established.
1927 - The first traffic light is installed in Johannesburg.
1928 - Johannesburg is accorded city status. Johannesburg Council appoints a Committee to deal with Native Affairs.
1930 - The number of houses built at Western and Eastern Townships reaches a total of 2625.
1931 - Britain abandons the gold standard, leading to a rise in the gold price.
1932 - The Union of South Africa abandons the gold standard.
1933 - Municipal water supply is provided to Newclare.
1934 - Klipspruit Location is renamed Pimville.
1935 - 27 water taps are installed in Sophiatown where water is sold by the bucket.
1937 - A fall in the value of gold shares on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE), many businesses and individuals go bankrupt, which beame known as 'Black Friday'.
1939 - The total number of houses for Black residents provided by the Johannesburg City Council reaches 8700.
1944 - 4042 breeze block shelters are erected in an area known as 'Shantytown', located between Orlando East and Orlando West.
1946 - The Moroka Emergency Camp is laid out, providing 11, 000 sites, 6x6m in size.
1947 - Baragwanath Hospital is taken over to serve the needs of the Black community.
1948 - 1800 patients are moved to Baragwanath Hospital from the Johannesburg General Hospital.
1949 - The gold price rises by 44%.
1950 - The ANC calls for a general strike. The police kill 18 people in Alexandra.
1951 - The Bantu Building Workers Act is passed.
1953 - In Johannesburg 35, 000 sites 12x21m each are surveyed.
1954 - The Johannesburg Municipality creates the Housing Division as a separate department.
1955 - A Resettlement Board is formed to undertake removal of Blacks from Johannesburg's western areas.
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Protest march against forced removals from Sophiatown
to Soweto. The making of Soweto.
|
1957 - The ANC organises the Alexandra Bus Boycott campaign.
1948 - 1800 patients are moved to Baragwanath Hospital from the Johannesburg General Hospital.
1949 - The gold price rises by 44%.
1950 - The ANC calls for a general strike. The police kill 18 people in Alexandra.
1951 - The Bantu Building Workers Act is passed.
1953 - In Johannesburg 35, 000 sites 12x21m each are surveyed.
1954 - The Johannesburg Municipality creates the Housing Division as a separate department.
1955 - A Resettlement Board is formed to undertake removal of Blacks from Johannesburg's western areas.
1956 - 14 000 Johannesburg Mining Houses are built.
1957 - The ANC organises the Alexandra Bus Boycott campaign.
1960 - Some 69 residents of Sharpeville are massacred by police during a Pan African Congress (PAC) protest meeting.
1961 - South Africa becomes a Republic.
1962 - Liquor becomes legally available to the Black community.
1964 - Permission is granted for the construction of a direct access road to Soweto.
1976 - School-children in Soweto go on strike, over 1000 people are killed in the clashes.
1980 - 53 clergymen are arrested in Johannesburg and charged under the Riotous assemblies Act.
1981 - The Sowetan hits the streets.
1982 - A mother and her 4-year-old daughter are killed when council efforts to demolish a neighbouring building crash onto them.
1983 - A bomb explodes in a synagogue in Johannesburg a few hours before State President Viljoen is due to attend a ceremony.
1984 - The new constitution comes into effect on 1 September.
1985 - PW Botha announces proposals to release Nelson Mandela, Mandela turned down the offer of release.
1986 - An explosion at a police station in Johannesburg is thought to have been caused by a bomb.
1987 - A bomb explodes in a department store in Johannesburg.
1988 - 17 anti-apartheid organisations are banned, including the UDF, Azapo and Cosatu.
1989 - The NP wins the election in September and FW de Klerk becomes the President of SA.
1990 - Nelson Mandela is released from prison after 27 years in captivity.
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| Nelson and Winnie Mandela upon his release from prison. |
1994 - First democratic elections
1997 - ‘Triomf’ reverts its name back to ‘Sophiatown’
1999 - Gandhi Square construction is completed.
2001 - Johannesburg Development Agency (JDA) is founded.
2003 - 44 Stanley and adjacent developments founded. Nelson Mandela Bridge built, improving the connection between the city and Braamfontein
2007 - The Alexander Theatre re-opens in Braamfontein.
2009 - Arts on Main and Maboneng founded
2010 - World Cup comes to South Africa. Gautrain phase I is launched. 70 Juta Street and Randlords in Braamfontein are launched
For a more detailed timeline of Johannesburg follow the following links:
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