March
30 – The Group Areas Act, passed in 1950, becomes law.
May
14 – Cabinet votes for the removal of Coloured people from the voters roll.
24 – The first part of the Afrikaans Dictionary Woordeboek van die Afrikaanse Taal (WAT) is published, a project which was started in 1926 by Prof. J.J. Smith of Stellenbosch University.
July
29 – Blacks, Coloureds and Indians meet for the first time to discuss a plan of action against race discrimination laws.
Unknown date
Max Theiler, virologist, is awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for developing a vaccine for yellow fever, the first South African to receive a Nobel Prize.
6 April – Robert Broom, the archaeologist who discovered Mrs Ples in 1947.
23 May – Sefako Mapogo Makgatho, the 2nd African National Congress' president, dies in Pretoria at the age of 90.
14 October – Herman Charles Bosman, writer and journalist, dies in Edenvale, Gauteng.
28 November – Clements Kadalie, trade unionist, dies in East London at the age of 55.
13 June – Transvaal: Grootvlei to Redan, 39 miles 1 chain (62.8 kilometres).
21 December – Transvaal: Springs to Welgedag, 5 miles 19 chains (8.4 kilometres).
22 December – The first 200 kilometre Dusi Marathon, with four pairs of canoeists taking part, starts on the Umsindusi River, which joins the Umgengi River in the Valley of a Thousand Hills. Since only Ian Player stays the course and finishes, it is declared that there is no winner.
8 December – The Springboks beat Ireland 17-5 in Ireland.
1951 in South Africa Wikipedia (Text) CC BY-SA
