Historical Events:
• 1888 – Johannes Henricus Brand (64), the fourth president of the Orange Free State, dies in Bloemfontein.
• 2012 – Suicide bomber attacks a wedding reception and kills 22 people and inures 22 in northern Afghanistan.
• 2002 – French President Jacques Chirac escapes an assassination attempt unscathed during Bastille Day celebrations.
• 2012 – Floods on the Japanese island of Kyushu kill 20 and displace 250,000.
Arts, Music, TV:
• 1891 – Dr Stephanus Petrus Erasmus Boshoff, Afrikaner cultural leader, linguist and director of education, is born on Vaalbank, district Senekal, OFS.
• 1934 – Pieter George du Plessis, Afrikaans dramatist and TV personality, is born in the district of Boshof, OFS.
• 1945 – James Leonard (Peter) Klatzow, SA composer and pianist, is born in Springs, Transvaal.
• 1965 – Ndazana Nathaniel Nakasa (Nat), journalist and writer who left SA by means of an exit permit and could never return, jumps from the window of a high-rise building. An annual award for courageous journalism has been named after him.
Sports:
• 1930 – William (Gobo) Ashley, SA cricket player in a test against England (1888-89), dies in Plumtree, Rhodesia.
• 1956 – The SA rugby team loses the first test against New Zealand 6-10 in Dunedin.
• 1978 – Andre George Ezra Coetzee, SA soccer player who made history in 2000 when he took Ajax Cape Town, the PSL and Safe to court to challenge the transfer and compensation rules, is born in Cape Town. He was awarded the accolade, ‘Playmaker of the Decade’ by Kick Off.
• 1967 – Leonardo Lavalle, Mexico, tennis star is born.
Source: historyorb.com & sahistory.org.com
Compiled by: Thandi Xaba
