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Bram Fischer
Abraham Louis Fischer (23 April 19088 May 1975) was a South African Communist lawyer of Afrikaner descent with partial Anglo-African ancestry from his paternal grandmother, notable for anti-apartheid activism and for the legal defence of anti-apartheid figures, including Nelson Mandela, at the Rivonia Trial. Following the trial, he was himself put on trial accused of furthering communism. He was sentenced to life imprisonment and diagnosed with cancer while in prison. The South African Prisons Act was extended to include his brother's house in Bloemfontein where he died two months later. Family and education Fischer came from a prominent Afrikaner family; his father was Percy Fischer (1878–1957), a judge president of the Orange Free State and his grandfather was Abraham Fischer (1850–1913), a prime minister of the Orange River Colony and later a member of the cabinet of the unified South Africa. Prior to studying at University of Oxford (New College, Oxford, New College ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bloemfontein
Bloemfontein ( ; ), also known as Bloem, is the capital and the largest city of the Free State (province), Free State province in South Africa. It is often, and has been traditionally, referred to as the country's "judicial capital", alongside the legislative capital Cape Town and Administration (government), administrative capital Pretoria, although the highest court in South Africa, the Constitutional Court of South Africa, Constitutional Court, has been in Johannesburg since 1994. Situated at an elevation of above sea level, the city is home to 256,185 (as of 2011) residents and forms part of the Mangaung Metropolitan Municipality which has a population of 747,431. It was one of the host cities for the 2010 FIFA World Cup. The city of Bloemfontein hosts the Supreme Court of Appeal (South Africa), Supreme Court of Appeal, the Franklin Game Reserve, :af:Naval Hill, Naval Hill, the Maselspoort, Maselspoort Resort and the Sand du Plessis Theatre. The city hosts numerous muse ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
New College, Oxford
New College is a constituent college of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom. Founded in 1379 by Bishop William of Wykeham in conjunction with Winchester College as New College's feeder school, New College was one of the first colleges in the university to admit and tutor undergraduate students. The college is in the centre of Oxford, between Holywell Street and New College Lane (known for Oxford's Bridge of Sighs). Its sister college is King's College, Cambridge. The choir of New College has recorded over one hundred albums, and has won two Gramophone Awards. History Despite its name, New College is one of the oldest of the Oxford colleges; it was founded in 1379 by William of Wykeham, Bishop of Winchester, as "Saint Mary College of Winchester in Oxenford", with both graduates and undergraduates. It became known as "New College" because there was already a college dedicated to St Mary in Oxford ( Oriel College). Foundation In 1379 William of Wykeh ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Liliesleaf Farm
Liliesleaf Farm, also spelt Lilliesleaf and also known simply as Liliesleaf, is a location in northern Johannesburg, South Africa, which is most noted for its use as a safe house for African National Congress (ANC) activists during the apartheid years in the 1960s. In 1963, the South African police raided the farm, arresting more than a dozen ANC leaders and activists, who were then tried and prosecuted during the Rivonia Trial. After the end of apartheid, the property was restored and turned into a museum and national heritage site. It was closed to visitors in September 2021, but was scheduled to reopen a year later. History The farmhouse is located on George Avenue in Rivonia, once a remote spot in a country village, now a suburb around north of Johannesburg, in the Sandton area. In 1961, the property was purchased by Arthur Goldreich and Harold Wolpe with funds from the underground South African Communist Party, to use as a safe house for political fugitives. Goldreich ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Long Walk To Freedom
''Long Walk to Freedom'' is an autobiography by South Africa's first democratically elected President Nelson Mandela, and it was first published in 1994 by Little Brown & Co. The book profiles his early life, coming of age, education and 27 years spent in prison. Under the apartheid government, Mandela was regarded as a terrorist and jailed on Robben Island for his role as a leader of the then-outlawed African National Congress (ANC) and its armed wing the Umkhonto We Sizwe. He later achieved international recognition for his leadership as president in rebuilding the country's once segregationist society. The last chapters of the book describe his political ascension and his belief that the struggle still continued against apartheid in South Africa. Overview In the first part of the autobiography, Mandela describes his upbringing as a child and adolescent in South Africa and being connected to the royal Thembu dynasty. His Xhosa birth name was Rolihlahla, which is loosely tran ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Treason Trial
The Treason Trial was a trial in Johannesburg in which 156 people, including Nelson Mandela, were arrested in a raid and accused of treason in South Africa in 1956. The main trial lasted until 1961, when all of the defendants were found not guilty. During the trials, Oliver Tambo left the country and was exiled. Whilst in other European and African countries, he started an organisation which helped bring publicity to the African National Congress's cause in South Africa. Some of the defendants were later convicted in the Rivonia Trial in 1964. Chief Luthuli has said of the Treason Trial:The treason trial must occupy a special place in South African history. That grim pre-dawn raid, deliberately calculated to strike terror into hesitant minds and impress upon the entire nation the determination of the governing clique to stifle all opposition, made one hundred and fifty-six of us, belonging to all the races of our land, into a group of accused facing one of the most serious ch ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Israel Maisels
Israel Aaron “Isie” Maisels (19 November 1905 – 8 December 1994) was a judge of the High Court of Southern Rhodesia and the Judge President of Botswana, Lesotho and Swaziland. He practised law in South Africa from 1928 until his retirement in 1992 and was widely regarded as “pre-eminent among his generation of advocates” and “one of the country’s most formidable legal minds.” In addition to a legal practice, he is best known for his defence of those prosecuted for their political beliefs and “as a man whose life and interests reflected a deep concern for human rights and civil liberty.” He was the leader of the defence team in the famous South African 1956 Treason Trial, Treason Trial of 1956 to 1961 in which the accused, including Nelson Mandela, were all acquitted as well as numerous other cases in which he represented individuals adversely affected by the apartheid government's oppressive legislation. He served on the bench of the High Court of Southern Rho ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
African Mine Workers' Strike
The South African Mine Workers' Strike was a labour dispute involving mine workers of Witwatersrand in South Africa. It started on 12 August 1946 and lasted approximately a week. The strike was attacked by police and over the week, at least 1,248 workers were wounded and at least nine killed. African Mine Workers' Union In 1941 a miners' conference was called by the Transvaal Provincial Committee of the African National Congress. The conference was supported by Paramount Chief of Zululand and trade unions. It was here that the African Mine Workers' Union came into being and elected a committee under the presidency of J. B. Marks, who also became President of the Transvaal African National Congress. At first the union was not recognised by the Chamber of Mines, but after sustained pressure for better wages and conditions, the prime minister, Field Marshal Jan Smuts, announced some piecemeal increases improvements in conditions while at the same time issuing War Measure No. 1425� ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
African National Congress
The African National Congress (ANC) is a political party in South Africa. It originated as a liberation movement known for its opposition to apartheid and has governed the country since 1994, when the 1994 South African general election, first post-apartheid election resulted in Nelson Mandela being elected as President of South Africa. Cyril Ramaphosa, the incumbent national president, has served as president of the ANC since 18 December 2017. Founded on 8 January 1912 in Bloemfontein as the South African Native National Congress, the organisation was formed to advocate for the rights of Bantu peoples of South Africa, black South Africans. When the National Party (South Africa), National Party government came to power 1948 South African general election, in 1948, the ANC's central purpose became to oppose the new government's policy of institutionalised apartheid. To this end, its methods and means of organisation shifted; its adoption of the techniques of mass politics, and ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Jan Smuts
Field Marshal Jan Christian Smuts, (baptismal name Jan Christiaan Smuts, 24 May 1870 11 September 1950) was a South African statesman, military leader and philosopher. In addition to holding various military and cabinet posts, he served as Prime Minister of the Union of South Africa from 1919 to 1924 and 1939 to 1948. Smuts was born to Afrikaner parents in the British Cape Colony. He was educated at Victoria College, Stellenbosch before reading law at Christ's College, Cambridge on a scholarship. He was called to the bar at the Middle Temple in 1894 but returned home the following year. In the leadup to the Second Boer War, Smuts practised law in Pretoria, the capital of the South African Republic. He led the republic's delegation to the Bloemfontein Conference and served as an officer in a commando unit following the outbreak of war in 1899. In 1902, he played a key role in negotiating the Treaty of Vereeniging, which ended the war and resulted in the annexation of the So ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Volga
The Volga (, ) is the longest river in Europe and the longest endorheic basin river in the world. Situated in Russia, it flows through Central Russia to Southern Russia and into the Caspian Sea. The Volga has a length of , and a catchment area of .«Река Волга» , Russian State Water Registry It is also Europe's largest river in terms of average discharge at delta – between and – and of . It is widely regarded as the national river of |
Soviet Union
The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet Union, it dissolved in 1991. During its existence, it was the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country by area, extending across Time in Russia, eleven time zones and sharing Geography of the Soviet Union#Borders and neighbors, borders with twelve countries, and the List of countries and dependencies by population, third-most populous country. An overall successor to the Russian Empire, it was nominally organized as a federal union of Republics of the Soviet Union, national republics, the largest and most populous of which was the Russian SFSR. In practice, Government of the Soviet Union, its government and Economy of the Soviet Union, economy were Soviet-type economic planning, highly centralized. As a one-party state go ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
