1959 in South Africa

← 1958 1957 1956 1959 in South Africa → 1960 1961 1962
Decades:	1930s 1940s 1950s 1960s 1970s
See also:	1959 in South African sport List of years in South Africa

The following lists events that happened during 1959 in South Africa.

Incumbents

• Monarch: Queen Elizabeth II.
• Governor-General:
  • until 25 November: Ernest George Jansen.
  • 25 November – 11 December: Lucas Cornelius Steyn.
  • starting 11 December: Charles Robberts Swart.
• Prime Minister: Hendrik Frensch Verwoerd.
• Chief Justice: Henry Allan Fagan then Lucas Cornelius Steyn.

Events

April

• 5 – The Pan-Africanist Congress led by Robert Sobukwe secedes from the African National Congress.

July

• 9 – Wing Commander Michael Beetham flying a Royal Air Force Vickers Valiant sets a record of 11 hours 27 minutes for a non-stop London-Cape Town flight.^[1]

August

• 11 – Members of the United Party led by Helen Suzman secede and form the Progressive Party.

December

• 1 – Twelve countries, including South Africa, the United States and the Soviet Union, sign the Antarctic Treaty.
• 11 – Charles Robberts Swart is appointed the 11th Governor-General of the Union of South Africa.
• 12 – The 47th Annual Conference of the African National Congress takes place in Durban.

Unknown date

• Papwa Sewgolum, a South African Indian golfer, wins the Dutch Open tournament.

Births

• 1 January – Thulas Nxesi, national minister
• 7 January – Peter Mokaba, member of the South African parliament, deputy minister in the government of Nelson Mandela (d. 2002)
• 14 March – Tertius Bosch, cricketer.
• 16 March – Tito Mboweni, politician.
• 4 April – Kenneth Segal, South African-born Israeli industrial designer and educator
• 7 April – Etsko Schuitema, Afrikaner businessman
• 21 April – Manne Dipico, politician
• 16 September – Dave Richardson (cricketer), cricketer.
• 18 November – Christine Barkhuizen le Roux, writer (d. 2020)^[2]

Deaths

Main article: Deaths in 1959

Further information: Category:1959 deaths

• April 15 – Leonard Beyers, South African army general (b. 1894)
• February 7 – D. F. Malan, South African politician, 4th Prime Minister of South Africa (b. 1874)
• April 15 – Leonard Beyers, South African army general (b. 1894)

Railways

Class 1-DH (DH-1420)

Locomotives

Three new Cape gauge locomotive types enter service on the South African Railways.

• May–July – Seven Class 1-DH Henschel type DH 1420 diesel-hydraulic locomotives.^[3]
• November – The first of 115 Class 32-000 General Electric type U18C1 diesel-electric locomotives in South West Africa.^[4]
• The first of 135 Class 5E1, Series 1 electric locomotives, an upgraded and more powerful version of the Class 5E.^[4][5]

References

1. "Records set by the RAF". Air of Authority – A History of RAF Organisation. Archived from the original on 12 August 2011. Retrieved 10 June 2012.
2. "Christine Barkhuizen-Le Roux (1959–2020)". Flanders Literature. 30 November 2020. Retrieved 13 April 2022.
3. Paxton, Leith; Bourne, David (1985). Locomotives of the South African Railways (1st ed.). Cape Town: Struik. pp. 143–144. ISBN 0869772112.
4. South African Railways Index and Diagrams Electric and Diesel Locomotives, 610mm and 1065mm Gauges, Ref LXD 14/1/100/20, 28 January 1975, as amended
5. Dulez, Jean A. (2012). Railways of Southern Africa 150 Years (Commemorating One Hundred and Fifty Years of Railways on the Sub-Continent – Complete Motive Power Classifications and Famous Trains – 1860–2011) (1st ed.). Garden View, Johannesburg, South Africa: Vidrail Productions. p. 293. ISBN 9 780620 512282.