• 1657: Jan Wouters is found guilty in court in the Cape for "blasphemous libels on Cape ladies" and is sentenced to beg their pardon on his knees, to have his tongue "bored through", to forfeit his wages, and to be banished for three years.
• 1713: 25% of the White population in the Cape die of smallpox. Hardest hit are the indigenous Khoisan people.
• 1856: Eugene Louis Jean Joseph Napoleon, the Prince Imperial of France is born in Paris, France. He was killed in Zululand in the Anglo-Zulu War in 1879.
• 1892: James Sebe Moroka, medical doctor, landowner and politician who was elected president-general of the ANC in 1949, is born in Thaba Nchu, OFS.
• 1959: Tito Mboweni, President of the SA Reserve Bank, is born in Tzaneen.
• 1984: Prime Minister P.W. Botha and President Samora Machel of Mozambique sign the Nkomati Accord at the common border on the banks of the Komati River a step hailed as a major move towards peace, stability and international co-operation in Southern Africa.
• 1915: Helena Dorothea Strauss, singer, choir director and music teacher, is born on the farm "Terugkeer" in Wepener district, OFS.
• 1920: Alba Bouwer, South African author, is born.
• 1947: Prof. Izak Daniël Bosman (50), professor of history at the University of Pretoria, dies in Pretoria.
• 1973: Jan Ellis, SA actor, is born in Belville, Cape.
• 1974: Heath Streak, Zimbabwean cricket player, is born in Bulawayo.
• A soccer ball is made up of 32 leather panels, held together by 642 stitches.
• The Romans played a game resembling golf, using a stick to hit a feather-stuffed ball.
• The longest tennis match took place at Wimbledon 2010 when John Isner of the United States beat Nicolas Mahut of France 6-4, 3-6, 6-7 (7), 7-6 (3), 70-68 in a match that lasted 11 hours and 5 minutes, played over 3 days, June 22, 23 and 24.
• A baseball ball has exactly 108 stitches, a cricket ball has between 65 and 70 stitches.

















Source: sahistory.org.com & didyouknow.org/fastfacts/sports/
Compiled by: Thandi Xaba