1819 – Struggle icon Nxele Makana drowns while escaping from Robben Island. Makana, together with about thirty other prisoners, attempted to escape from Robben Island in three boats. The boats capsized and Makana, while marshalling and urging his men to swim to shore, drowned. Only four of the prisoners survived.
Makana became a lasting symbol of resistance.
1939 – Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer was introduced to the public. Robert May created Rudolph for the Montgomery-Ward department store in America, which was hoping to save money on their annual Christmas colouring book by using an original character.
1990 – The first trial run of the World Wide Web took place. The network consisted of two computers and a single server The creators, Tim Berners-Lee and Robert Cailliau went through several possible names before settling on “World Wide Web.”
1992 – South African political and human rights activist Helen Beatrice May Joseph died at the age of 87 in Johannesburg.
She came to SA in 1931 and, with Lilian Ngoyi and other prominent women, led the women’s march to the Union Buildings in 1956.
Details: www.sahistory.org.za, www.historyorb.com
