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The Union of South Africa is formed from the former British colonies of the Cape and Natal and the Boer republics of Transvaal and Orange Free State.
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Natives' Land Act is introduced to prevent blacks, except those living in Cape Province, from buying land outside reserves.
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The National Party of the Dutch Afrikaners comes to power and imposes apartheid.
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The Group Areas Act formally segregates the races.
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Police open fire on a crowd protesting apartheid.
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The U.N. General Assembly condemns South Africa for apartheid.
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South Africa becomes a republic and leaves the Commonwealth.
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ANC leader Nelson Mandela is sentenced to life imprisonment.
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South Africa is banned from the Olympic Games because of apartheid policies.
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Surgeons in Cape Town perform the first ever human heart transplant.
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South Africa is suspended from the UN General Assembly over racial policies.
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White police gun down teenagers Hector Pieterson and Hastings Ndhlovu, sparking riots across South Africa. Students had been marching to protest a new rule that called for Afrikaans as the language of instruction.
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The South African government eases job restrictions on blacks.
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F.W. de Klerk is sworn in as acting president of South Africa, one day after P.W. Botha resigned as the result of a power struggle within the National Party. He meets Mandela. Public facilities desegregated. Many ANC activists freed.
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Nelson Mandela is released from a South African prison after being detained for 27 years as a political prisoner fighting against apartheid.
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First general election in which every eligible citizen can vote. Nelson Mandela (ANC) voted in.
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A new constitution is given final approval.