On This Day in South Africa: What happened on 29 December?

Here’s a look at what happened on this day, 29 December, throughout world and South African history. We remember the news, events, and people that influenced the course of history forever.

ON THIS DAY: 29 DECEMBER

1978 | Rev. Allan Hendrickse was elected leader of the Coloured Labour Party at its thirteenth Congress in Bloemfontein.

1976 | Minister of Bantu Education M.C. Botha, introduced free and compulsory education.

2011 | Samoa and Tokelau skipped straight to December 31 when they moved from one side of the International Date Line to the other.

2003 | The last known speaker of Akkala Sami died, making the language extinct.

1998 | Khmer Rouge leaders apologized for the 1970s genocide in Cambodia that claimed more than a million lives.

1996 | Guatemala and the leaders of the National Revolutionary Unity of Guatemala signed a peace treaty that ended the 36-year civil war.

ALSO READ: What happened on 28 December?

BIRTHDAYS

1969 | South African rugby union footballer and coach, Brendan Venter.

1978 | South African rugby union player, André Pretorius.

1987 | Scottish actor, Iain De Caestecker.

1957 | German actor, director, and producer, Oliver Hirschbiegel.

1948 | Northern Irish politician, third First Minister of Northern Ireland, Peter Robinson.

ON THIS DAY: DEATHS

2014 | Indian-Hong Kong businessman and philanthropist, Hari Harilela, 92.

2007 | Scottish footballer, Phil O’Donnell, 35.

1998 | French author and illustrator, Jean-Claude Forest, 68.

2010 | Israeli footballer and manager, Avi Cohen, 54.

SPORTS

2013 | Seven times Formula One Champion, Michael Schumacher suffered a serious injury in a skiing accident in the France alps on this day and plunged into a coma.

ENTERTAINMENT

1955 | On this day, Barbra Streisand recorded her first single, “You’ll Never Know,” at the age of 13.

AFRICA FACT

The second largest producer of diamonds in the world is Botswana.