| 1948 |
Initial Apartheid policies adopted. |
| 20 Mar 1960 |
South African police massacre 69 black civil rights demonstrators in Sharpeville incident, which moves African National Congress to abandon its policy of nonviolence. |
| 1962 |
Nelson Mandela arrested, sentenced to life imprisonment. |
| 6 Sep 1966 |
Parliamentary messenger Demetrios Tsafendas assassinates Prime Minister Hendrik Verwoerd, by sticking a knife in his chest on the floor of the South African legislature. The apartheid system had been Verwoerd's brainchild. |
| 1974 |
South Africa expelled from United Nations, over Apartheid policies. |
| 16 Jun 1976 |
15,000 schoolchildren take to the streets of Soweto to protest South Africa's adoption of bilingual instruction in the Afrikaans language. The nonviolent march ends abruptly when police and soldiers open fire on the crowd, killing 600 and igniting days of rioting throughout the region. |
| 12 Sep 1977 |
Anti-Apartheid activist Steven Biko dies of a brain hemorrhage, naked and on the floor of Pretoria Central Prison. Police had inflicted serious head injuries on September 6 while he was in custody. |
| 23 Sep 1979 |
South Africa secretly tests an atomic bomb. |
| 1989 |
Activist Stompei Seipei Moketsi (age 14) kidnapped by Winnie Mandela's guards, and later killed. |
| 1991 |
Winnie Mandela convicted of assault and kidnapping, over Stompei's murder. |
| 11 Apr 2001 |
Soccer stampede leaves 43 dead in Johannesburg (Kaizer Chiefs vs Orlando Pirates.) |
| 2002 |
Kami, the first HIV-positive Muppet, appears on Sesame Street in South Africa. The aidsy muppet is designed to promote education about HIV/AIDS. |