The Moeder Kerk in Stellenbosch, is reflected in the sunglasses of one of the many mourners at the funeral of philanthropist Anton Rupert. Picture Andrew Ingram.
Some of the more interesting things that happened on this day.
1363 At the Battle of Lake Poyang, Zhu Yuanzhang’s Chinese forces defeat Chen Youliang’s in one of the largest naval battles in history, with 850 000 people taking part.
1537 The first complete English-language Bible (the Matthew Bible) is printed.
1582 Italian Ugo Buoncompagni, AKA Pope Gregory XIII, introduces a new calendar to replace the Julian Calendar Not everyone was an immediate ahederant however, with the UK holding out until 1752 and Greece till 1923. The last convert was Turkey, in 1927.
1883 The luxury Orient Express train departs on its first journey from Paris to Istanbul.
1886 Randjeslaagte, the site of central Johannesburg, is declared a public digging. The declaration comes a day after the farm’s village is officially named Johannesburg. The general consensus was that Johannesburg’s life span would not exceed 25 years. Thus, initially life in the new mining town was one of uncertainty and, as the nearest rail-heads were at Kimberley, Ladysmith and Komatipoort, all stores, materials and personnel had to be carted in by wagon.
1916 Patron of the arts, hugely influential businessman and co-founder of the World Wildlife Fund (WWF), Anton Rupert is born in Graaff-Reinet. Hailed by Nelson Mandela as a ‘friend’ and ‘giant of a man …famous for his approach of helping others to help themselves rather than fostering dependency’, he was described by former president Thabo Mbeki as someone who ‘played a pivotal role in the development of South Africa’s industrial and commercial sectors ... supporting and initiating significant transformation’.
1929 The Table Mountain cableway opens.
1970 Austria’s Jochen Rindt posthumously wins the Formula 1 World Drivers Championship at the US Grand Prix when contender Jacky Ickx finishes 4th. Rindt died while practising for the Italian GP.
1992 An El Al cargo plane crashes in an Amsterdam suburb killing 43 people.
1992 Mozambique’s 16-year civil war ends.
2021 Three years worth of rain (300mm) falls in 12 hours in city of Al Khaburah, Oman, in the wake of Tropical Cyclone Shaheen.
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