ON THIS DAY, SEPTEMBER 17

1595 A Dutch fleet arrives at an island in the Indian Ocean. They stay for nearly four months to repair their ships and rest their sick, and name the island Mauritius.

1825 Sir Donald Currie, ship magnate and donor of the Currie cups for rugby and cricket, is born in Greenock, Scotland.

1832 About 2 000 slave owners meet in Cape Town to complain about new rules, claiming that the working conditions for slaves at the

Cape is already better in many respects than the conditions of factory workers in Britain. 1859 Joshua Norton declares himself “Norton I, Emperor of the United States of America.”

1860 The Alfred Dock in Table Bay is officially opened by Prince Alfred Ernest Albert (16), second son of Queen Victoria, after whom several places and towns in SA are named. 1916 German aerial fighter ace Manfred von Richthofen, aka The Red Baron, makes his first kill.

1939 The Soviet Union joins Nazi Germany’s invasion of Poland, attacking the country’s eastern borders.

1939 A German submarine, U-29 sinks the British aircraft carrier HMS Courageous. 1948 The Lehi/Stern gang assassinates Count Folke Bernadotte, who the UN named to mediate between the Arab nations and Israel. 1949 The Canadian steamship SS Noronic burns in Toronto Harbour and 118 people die from the blaze.

1968 Cyprian Bhekuzulu Nyangayezizwe KaDinuzulu, fourth son of Solomon KaDinuzulu and Paramount Chief of the Zulus for 20 years, dies in Nongoma, Zululand. He is succeeded by son, Goodwill Zwelithini, who dies in 2021. 1978 The Camp David Accords, aimed at a lasting peace in the Middle East, are signed by Israel and Egypt at Camp David in the US. 1987 Archbishop Desmond Tutu and religious leaders from Hindu and Muslim communities hold talks with the banned ANC in Zambia. 2004 The Paralympic Games open in Athens, with Amakrokokroko table tennis star Rosabelle Riese leading the team.

2019 Swedish climate activist Greta

Thunberg tells US Congress “I know you are trying but just not hard enough. Sorry.” | THE HISTORIAN