On This Day: What happened on 2 December?

Here’s a look at what happened on this day, 2 December, throughout history. We remember the news, events, and people that influenced the course of history forever.

ON THIS DAY: 2 DECEMBER

1922 | Nontsizi Mgqwetho’s Xhosa poem mourning her mother is published. She is the first woman to publish a poem in Xhosa.

1949 | The UN abolish slavery internationally. 

1961 | Britain refuses to grant Uganda’s request for independence.

1977 | The South Africa police who were charged with the murder of Steve Biko were cleared because of lack of evidence.

1981 | Murdered civil rights lawyer and political activist, Griffiths Mxenge is buried at his home village of Rayi.

1985 | COSATU was established in Durban to create create a non-racial and non-sexist labour union in South Africa.

READ: On This Day: What happened on 1 December?

DEATHS

1982 | South African-Australian composer, Isador Goodman (73)

1983 | South African cricketer, Atholl Mckinnon (51)

2013 | Algerian-born French businessman, founder of  Orangina, a French soft drink, Jean-Claude Beton (88)

BIRTHDAYS

1977 | South African footballer, Siyabonga Eugene Nomvete

1980 | South African cricketer, Darryn Randall

1990 | Ghanaian footballer, Emmanuel Agyemang-Badu

SPORT

1950 | Victor “Vic” Toweel, South African boxer and world bantamweight boxing champion, sets a record for knockdowns in his fight against England’s Danny O’Sullivan.

2004 | Proteas all-rounder Shaun Pollock becomes the first player to take 300 wickets and score 3 000 runs in Test cricket.

ENTERTAINMENT

2013 | The second movie of the Hobbit series ‘The Desolation of Smaug’ is released in Los Angeles. 

AFRICA FACT

In Africa, the largest crocodile is the Nile crocodile and is the second largest after the saltwater crocodile.