X-Nico

88 unusual facts about Johannesburg


1133 Lugduna

It was discovered by H. Van Gent on September 13, 1929 in Johannesburg, South Africa.

1268 Libya

The asteroid was discovered on April 29, 1930 by C. Jackson in Johannesburg.

1994 CAF Super Cup

The match took place on 16 January 1994, on neutral stadium at First National Bank Stadium in Johannesburg, South Africa, between Egyptian clubs Zamalek, the 1993 African Cup of Champions Clubs winner, and Al-Ahly, the 1993 African Cup Winners' Cup winner.

2010 ICC World Twenty20 officials

It must be categorically stated, however, that none of these reasons is related to his role as third umpire in the fourth Test between South Africa and England in Johannesburg earlier this year.

2013 Soweto Open

It took place in Johannesburg, South Africa, on 29 April – 5 May 2013 for the men's event and 6–12 May 2013 for the women's event.

46 South African Brigade

46 SA Brigade is a composite brigade consisting of a headquarters in Kensington, Johannesburg and a Brigade Administrative Area at Wallmansthal.

Achille Mbembe

His work has also examined Johannesburg as a metropolitan city and the work of Frantz Fanon.

Africa.com

The Africa.com organization has representation offices in Johannesburg, South Africa; Lagos, Nigeria; and New York, United States.

Afropsipyla similis

It was described by Balinsky in 1994, and is known from South Africa (it was described from Johannesburg).

AirQuarius Aviation

AirQuarius Aviation was an airline based in Johannesburg, South Africa, operating chartered flights and aircraft leasing contracted by companies throughout Africa and the Middle East.

Alan van der Merwe

Alan van der Merwe (born 31 January 1980 in Johannesburg) is a South African race car driver.

Barbara Becnel

On Sunday, June 25, 2006, Becnel and Neal released Williams' ashes into a lake in Thokoza Park, located in the black township of Soweto, Johannesburg, South Africa.

Big Fellas

The film was shot on various locations that range from Cape Town to Cango Caves to Johannesburg.

Bilene

Noted for its calm and clear lagoon, the Uembje Lagoon, giving way to the pounding Indian Ocean beyond tall dunes, it is reported to be the closest beach destination to the city of Johannesburg in neighboring South Africa.

Blood Knot

Blood Knot is an early play by South African playwright, actor, and director Athol Fugard, performed first, but only one time, in Johannesburg, South Africa, in 1961, with the playwright Fugard and Zakes Mokae playing the brothers Morris and Zachariah.

C. Brooke Worth

As a Field Staff Member for the Rockefeller Foundation, Dr. C. Brooke Worth went to the South African Institute of Medical Research (SAIMR) in Johannesburg in the 1950s and was able to carry out a remarkable series of field studies in South Africa and Mozambique.

Charlayne Hunter-Gault

She worked in Johannesburg, South Africa, as National Public Radio's chief correspondent in Africa from 1997 to 1999.

Counting Headz: South Afrika's Sistaz in Hip Hop

Counting Headz was shot primarily in and around Johannesburg, the cultural and commercial capital of South Africa.

Creatures of Impulse

At "The Three Pigeons" inn, it is a good day for some: the miser Boomblehardt has been out collecting rents from his tenants, and Sergeant Klooque, hero of Johannesburg, has just arrived at the inn on leave and may now flirt with any lady he chooses, without the need to pretend they are his relatives to get around his tyrannical Colonel.

Cup of Zimbabwe

Due to sponsorship, the competition has undergone a number of name changes: from its creation in 1962 until 1998, the cup was known as the Castle Cup, after its sponsor, the Johannesburg-based Castle Lager.

Dennis Jensen

Dr Dennis Jensen (born 28 February 1962 in Johannesburg, South Africa), Australian politician, was elected to the Australian House of Representatives at the 9 October 2004 federal election for the Division of Tangney, Western Australia, for the Liberal Party.

Derold Page

Derold Page (born South Africa 1947) After working in Johannesburg as an interior designer, he went into fashion design in 1972.

Diamond District

The area is one of the primary centers of the global diamond industry (along with London — rough stones; the Antwerp diamond district in Belgium — historical but waning; Mumbai, India — increasing in significance, Ramat Gan, Israel — also growing, and Johannesburg, South Africa — the major historical source), as well as the premier center for jewelry shopping in the city.

Doveton Sturdee

According to Anna Smith in her book "Johannesburg Street Names" (Juta, 1971), Sturdee Avenue in Rosebank, Johannesburg (South Africa), is "believed that it commemorates Admiral Sir Frederick Charles Doveton Sturdee (1859–1925) of World Ward 1 fame. The Town Engineer in writing to the township-owners on 3 November 1919 stated that Sturdee was in the 'Falklands Battle'."

Dudu Pukwana

In 1962, he won first prize at the Johannesburg Jazz Festival with Moyake's Jazz Giants (1962 Gallo/Teal).

E. Neville Isdell

In 1972, he became general manager of Coca-Cola Bottling of Johannesburg, the largest Coca-Cola bottler in Africa.

Economy of Lesotho

The LHWP is designed to capture, store, and transfer water from the Orange River system and send it to South Africa's Free State and greater Johannesburg area, which features a large concentration of South African industry, population and agriculture.

Edward Curtis Franklin

Franklin got invited to participate at the British Association for the Advancement of Science at Melbourne, Australia, and Johannesburg, South Africa.

Egoli

eGoli is the alternative, Zulu name for Johannesburg, South Africa.

Emirates SkyCargo

In September 2004, the airline launched freighter services to Johannesburg and Lahore.

Ernest Griffith Price

In 1900 he married Maude Ethel Marshall, the daughter of an army Major and Justice of the Peace from Johannesburg, South Africa.

Ertuğrul Osman

He was married twice, first in New York City, New York, on 20 January 1947 to Gulda Twerskoy (Johannesburg, Gauteng, 20 March 1915 – New York City, 16 September 1985), without issue.

Fordsburg Square

This square in Johannesburg is the location of a battle between striking miners and the South African police, army and air force.

Garth Meade

Garth Meade (b. 1930 Johannesburg, South Africa) was a comedian and actor active in Australia from 1970.

Hair theft

A number of inhabitants of Johannesburg and Durban had their dreadlocks stolen by "hair jackers", carrying out "cut and runs" using anything from knives to shards of broken glass.

Hannah Botha

Hannah Botha (born in Dwarsderbos on 17 January 1923; died in Johannesburg on 16 April 2007) was a South African TV and film actress known for roles in Nommer Asseblief, Agter Elke Man and most recently the soap-opera Egoli: Place of Gold.

History of rugby league in South Africa

Part of this future, it was hoped, was that the nine teams located in the Johannesburg area would launch the 1963 season.

Ian Fraser, Baron Fraser of Lonsdale

Fraser was the son of William Percy Fraser, a businessman of South Africa, who played a role in the development of Johannesburg.

Ina Millman

Ina Millman is a South African artist and a well established art teacher based in Johannesburg, South Africa.

Isdal woman

The photographer claimed the woman had told him that she came from a small town north of Johannesburg in South Africa, and that she had six months to see the most beautiful places in Norway.

Jasminum multipartitum

Starry Wild Jasmine is naturally found in the woodlands of the Eastern Cape and Kwazulu Natal, as well as inland as far as Johannesburg.

Joburg Art Fair

Johannesburg, South Africa: Goodman-galery, Everard Read-gallery, David Krut, Warren Siebrits, Art on Paper, Rooke-galery, Gallery Momo, Art Extra.

Joel Pollak

Pollak was born in Johannesburg, South Africa but his parents emigrated to the United States shortly after his birth.

Johannes Hermanus Michiel Kock

With the outbreak of the war he was in charge of the Johannesburg commando and German Corps.

KwaDukuza eGoli Hotel

KwaDukuza eGoli Hotel (Also known as the Johannesburg Sun Tower) is a skyscraper in the Central Business District of Johannesburg, South Africa.

Lillian Browse

In 1909 the family moved to South Africa, where her father had set up as a racehorse trainer, and she was educated at Barnato Park High School, in Johannesburg in the Transvaal.

Lindsey Hermer-Bell

Born in Johannesburg, South Africa, Lindsey Hermer-Bell moved to Canada in 1977.

Louis Lane

He was also principal guest conductor 1982-1983 and principal conductor 1984-1985 of the National Symphony Orchestra of the South African Broadcasting Corporation based in Johannesburg.

Mário Crespo

He also married Helen de Souza from Johannesburg, a South African woman with Portuguese ancestry who worked in genetics.

Marlene Behrmann

She received a B.A. in speech and hearing therapy from the University of Witwatersrand in Johannesburg, South Africa in 1981; an M.A. in speech pathology from the University of Witwatersrand in 1984, and a Ph.D. in Psychology from the University of Toronto in 1991.

Mich d'Avray

Jean-Michel (Mich) d'Avray (born 19 February 1962 in Johannesburg, South Africa) is a former professional association footballer who spent the majority of his playing career at Ipswich Town.

Mighty Birds

Mighty Birds are a former South African football club from the Soweto area of Johannesburg.

Milija Aleksic

He later emigrated to South Africa, and played for Wits University, before taking up employment at the Golfer's Club in Johannesburg.

Moira Lister

Born in Cape Town to Major James Lister and Margaret (née Hogan), Lister was educated at the Parktown Convent of the Holy Family, Johannesburg.

Never Ending Gardens

Never Ending Gardens is a division of Dream for Africa, a faith-based non-profit organization based in Gainesville, Georgia, USA, and in Johannesburg, Gauteng, South Africa that seeks to alleviate hunger in Africa by building sustainable vegetable gardens in communities to improve their diet.

Neville Heath

He was shipped home, but on his way he escaped the guard and headed for Johannesburg where he joined the South African Air Force, eventually rising to the rank of Captain.

Norman H. Bangerter

After his retirement as governor, Bangerter returned to his construction firm and served for three years as president of the South Africa Johannesburg Mission of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints from 1996 to 1999.

One Night in Eden

The premiere concert held in Johannesburg, South Africa was recorded in 1999 and has been released on DVD and VHS.

Philosophical Papers

Philosophical Papers is primarily based in the Department of Philosophy at Rhodes University in Grahamstown and it is jointly edited by the philosophy departments of Rhodes and the University of the Witwatersrand in Johannesburg.

Pillow fight

The Johannesburg-based University of the Witswatersrand's Silly Buggers Society has held an annual Pillow Fight at the East Campus' Library Lawns since 2007.

Prenuptial agreement

In 2004, the High Court of South Africa upheld a cherem against a Johannesburg businessman because he refused to pay his former wife alimony as ordered by a beth din.

Ralph Lazar

Ralph Lazar was born in Johannesburg, South Africa in 1967, and has degrees in Law & Economics from the University of Cape Town, and a degree in Economics from The London School of Economics.

Raúl Castro

On 10 December 2013, Castro, in a significant moment shook hands and greeted American President Barack Obama at the Nelson Mandela memorial service in Johannesburg.

Raymond Keene

His tournament victories include Hastings Challengers 1966, Slater Challenge Southend 1968, Johannesburg 1973, Woolacombe 1973, Capablanca Memorial (Master Group) 1974, Alicante 1977, Sydney 1979, Dortmund 1980, Barcelona 1980, Lloyds Bank Masters 1981, Adelaide 1983 and La Valletta 1985.

Roberts International Airport

In the late 1970s and into the early 1980s, the airport became Pan Am's principal African hub, with a non-stop service from New York JFK connecting at Robertsfield to such destinations as Dakar, Accra, Abidjan, Lagos, and Conakry, among others, and continuing on to Nairobi and even at times Johannesburg, so that for many years virtually every Pan Am passenger to Africa passed through Robertsfield.

Royal Warwickshire Regiment

In 1898 the regiment fought at Atbara and Omdurman during Lord Kitchener's reconquest of the Sudan and saw service in the Second Boer War at Johannesburg, Diamond Hill and Belfast.

Sacred Heart College, Johannesburg

Sacred Heart College is a private Catholic school in Observatory, Johannesburg, Gauteng, South Africa.

Sheila Gordon

Sheila Gordon, a book person born in Johannesburg, South Africa on January 22, 1927, is the author of Waiting for the Rain, The Middle of Somewhere, and Unfinished Business.

Sir Edward Hulse, 6th Baronet

His body was discovered in his bedroom in Johannesburg on the morning of 30 May 1903 having committed suicide with his revolver.

Sonja Schlesin

Schlesin died in Johannesburg in 1956 and her ashes were placed in a wall of remembrance at Braamfontein Cemetery in Johannesburg.

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Schlesin enrolled at the University College of Johannesburg which she funded with a loan that Gandhi arranged.

Southern Life Centre

The Southern Life Centre is a skyscraper in the Central Business District of Johannesburg, South Africa.

Standard Bank Centre

The Standard Bank Centre is a skyscraper in the Central Business District of Johannesburg, South Africa.

State of the City address

Other international cities have also adopted the tradition; for example, the Executive Mayor of Johannesburg has delivered a State of the City Address since 2002.

Swaziland Airlink

Swaziland Airlink started operations in July 1999 with a leased Fokker F28 aircraft from RSNAC linking Matsapha Airport with Johannesburg and Dar-es-Salaam.

Swift Air Malawi

It has concentrated on domestic flights between the business and mining hubs of the country, and as of February 2012 it performed a regular shuttle service to Johannesburg OR Tambo International Airport.

The Brother Moves On

Upon graduating from Rhodes University in the Eastern Cape, S. Mthembu left his former band, Orangutang Bitch, and moved back to Johannesburg.

Thillaiaadi Valliammai

She was born to R. Munuswamy Mudaliar and Mangalam, a young immigrant couple from a small village called Thillaiyadi in Nagappatinam near Mayiladuthurai in India to Johannesburg – the gold-city of South Africa to work for their way out of difficulty.

Trunko

The photo had been snapped by Johannesburg photographer A. C. Jones, who had visited Trunko's remains while they were beached.

Trust Bank Building

Trust Bank Building is a skyscraper in the Central Business District of Johannesburg, South Africa.

Upington Airport

Upington was chosen because of its strategic position, availability of land and comparatively lower height above sea level than Johannesburg.

Verner Clapp

Clapp was the son of US-American parents, who returned to the US after his birth in Johannesburg, South Africa.

Véronique Tadjo

Tadjo is currently based in Johannesburg, where since 2007 she has been head of French Studies at the University of the Witwatersrand.

Washington International Renewable Energy Conference

One of the major accomplishments of the 2002 World Summit on Sustainable Development (WSSD) in Johannesburg, South Africa, was the recognition that renewable energy is a critical component of sustainable development, energy security, climate change, and air quality.

What Happened to Burger's Daughter or How South African Censorship Works

The book was published in Johannesburg by Taurus Publications, a small underground publishing house established in the late-1970s to print anti-apartheid literature and other material South African publishers would avoid for fear of censorship.

Wonderboom Airport

It is believed that there is a market for passenger service, mainly Pretoria residents that do not wish to commute to OR Tambo International Airport in Johannesburg; an estimated 25%-30% of passengers using OR Tambo are Pretoria residents.

World Doctors Orchestra

The concerts were on February 9, 2012 at Baxter Theatre Centre, Cape Town, on February 11, 2012 at the The Miracle, Elandsdoorn and February 12, 2012 at the Linder Auditorium, Johannesburg in co-operation with the Johannesburg International Mozart Festival with soloist Maria du Toit, clarinet, and the Ndlovu Youth Choir (director Ralf Schmitt).

Yeung Ku-wan

Yeung travelled to Johannesburg, South Africa, via Singapore and later to Japan, where he stayed from 1896–1899, to expand the Revive China Society and spread its ideas.


Aerolift

Aerolift was a South African airline based in Bryanston, Gauteng, Johannesburg, operating chartered passenger and cargo flights within Africa using Soviet-built aircraft.

Alfredo Jaar

His work has been shown extensively around the world, notably in the Biennales of Venice (1986, 2007), São Paulo (1987, 1989, 2010), Istanbul (1995), Kwangju (1995, 2000), Johannesburg (1997), and Seville (2006).

Apartheid

The best-publicised forced removals of the 1950s occurred in Johannesburg, when 60,000 people were moved to the new township of Soweto (an abbreviation for South Western Townships).

Artisanal mining

350 km to the west of Johannesburg and the Witwatersrand reef (the ridge that contains the gold), the mines around Barberton contain visible nugget gold in quartz veins, in addition to fine particles, that are embedded in metamorphosed late Archaean age rocks dating to 3.2-3.4 billion years ago.

Australian cricket team in South Africa in 2005–06

The 5th One Day International cricket match between South Africa and Australia, played on 12 March 2006 at New Wanderers Stadium, Johannesburg, has been acclaimed by many media commentators as being one of the greatest One Day International matches ever played.

Beat the Drum

A young South African orphan named Musa (Junior Singo) leaves his AIDS-ravaged village in KwaZulu-Natal, taking along only a drum given to him by his father, for the gritty streets of Johannesburg in search of work and his uncle.

Beers

De Beers, a Johannesburg-based diamond mining and trading corporation

Bruce Wilkinson

Believing that Africa should be the next focal point for evangelical efforts, Wilkinson moved to Bryanston, Johannesburg, in 2002, and started an organization called Dream for Africa, which included the launch of the Never Ending Gardens.

Christian du Plessis

Born in Vryheid, South Africa, he studied in Johannesburg with Teasdale Griffiths and Esme Webb, and made his stage debut there, with the Transvaal Opera, as Yamadori in Madama Butterfly, in 1967.

Endre Szász

He had several exhibitions all over the world, including the Museum of Modern Art (Mexico City), Auschwitz Museum (Poland), the Hungarian National Gallery (Budapest), and also exhibited in Madrid, Copenhagen, Brussels, Berlin, Rome, Oslo, Johannesburg, New Orleans, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Budapest, Amman (Jordan) and Tokyo.

Fasken Martineau

Fasken Martineau is an international business law firm with more than 770 lawyers and offices in Vancouver, Calgary, Toronto, Ottawa, Montréal, Québec City, London, Paris, and Johannesburg.

Ferreirasdorp

Ferreira’s Mine stope, preserved within the Standard Bank precinct as one of Johannesburg’s first sub-surface digging mines.

GIBS

The Gordon Institute of Business Science, University of Pretoria, a business school in Johannesburg, South Africa

Global Leadership Adventures

Global Leadership Adventures was founded by Fred Swaniker as a precursor to the African Leadership Academy, based in Johannesburg, South Africa but became a separate entity in 2004.

Institute of International Education

Current REACs are located in the following cities around the world: Lima, Mexico City, Rio de Janeiro, Budapest, Kyiv, Bratislava, Amman, Accra, Johannesburg, Lahore, Delhi, Beijing, Tokyo, and Kuala Lumpur.

International Year of Sanitation

Further development of these goals was discussed in 2002 at the World Summit on Sustainable Development in Johannesburg, with the inclusion of access to sanitation as fundamental to achieving all goals surrounding bringing an end to poverty.

Jo-Ann Strauss

In 2010, Jo-Ann presented the opening ceremony for the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa for the German television network ZDF along with Thomas Gottschalk in a live broadcast from Johannesburg on 10 June.

John S. Saul

He has also taught at the University of Dar es Salaam in Tanzania, alongside activist-academics such as Giovanni Arrighi (with whom he wrote Essays on the Political Economy of Africa) and Walter Rodney; at the University of Eduardo Mondlane in Maputo, Mozambique, alongside activist-academics such as Ruth First; and at the University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg in South Africa.

Kokan Popović

The lineup featured Belgrade musicians living in Johannesburg: Popović on rhythm guitar and vocals and Marka Benini on drums, with musicians from South Africa Derrick Skihippers (lead guitar) and Kahlan Merchant (bass guitar).

Light Horse Regiment

It is part of the South African Army Armour Formation and is based at Mount Collins in Sandton, Johannesburg.

Malibongwe Drive

The change was part of an ongoing plan by the city of Johannesburg to create politically neutral names to replace "upsetting" reminders of South Africa's racial past.

Media in Pretoria

The inception of an FM broadcast service in South Africa, began on 1 September 1961 from what is now known as the Sentech Tower in Brixton, Johannesburg.

Nigel Haywood

In 1992 he be became the Deputy Consul-General in Johannesburg and in 1996 he was appointed Deputy Head of the UK's Delegation to the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe in Vienna.

Pat Walkden

She was part of the South African team that won the Federation Cup in 1972 after a victory in the final over Great Britain at Ellis Park in Johannesburg, South Africa.

Patrick Chamusso

When he was 28, he got a job at the Sasol's synthetic fuel plant at Secunda (Secunda CTL), the largest coal liquefaction plant in the world, located several hours east of Johannesburg.

Qkumba Zoo

Qkumba Zoo was a dance music trio from Johannesburg, South Africa, consisting of vocalist Levannah, dancer/sculptor Tziki and musician/producer Owl.

Rensburg

William GL Janse van Rensburg (1939–2008), mayor of the city of Johannesburg, South Africa, from 1990 to 1991

Robert T. A. Innes

In 1903 he took up the position of Director of the new Meteorological Observatory in Johannesburg.

Ron Hoffmann

Between 1989 and 2001, he held numerous sub-Ambassadorial postings at Canadian missions in The Hague, Johannesburg, Beijing and London.

Royal Observatory

Royal Observatory, Cape of Good Hope (merged with the Republic Observatory, Johannesburg, formerly the Union Observatory, to form the South African Astronomical Observatory in 1972)

Sizwe Banzi Is Dead

The genesis of Sizwe Bansi Is Dead can be traced to Fugard’s experiences as a law clerk at the Native Commissioner’s Court in Johannesburg.

Skopos market insight

SKOPOS Market Insight is a global market research agency and communications research company with offices based in London, Cologne, Berlin, Paris, Johannesburg and Sydney.

South African National Blood Service

The head office is in Weltevredenpark, Gauteng, near Johannesburg, but there are blood collection operations in eight of the nine provinces.

The Mind in the Cave

The Mind in the Cave: Consciousness and the Origins of Art is a study of Upper Palaeolithic European rock art written by the archaeologist David Lewis-Williams, then a professor at the University of the Witwatersrand in Johannesburg, South Africa.

Thomas Hezmalhalch

Lake and Hezmalhalch started their ministry at a rental hall in Doornfontein, a Johannesburg suburb, on 25 May 1908.

Westpark Cemetery

The cemetery's main Military Plot contains the Johannesburg Cremation Memorial to 69 Commonwealth service personnel cremated at Johannesburg's Braamfontein Crematorium during the same war.

Yekaterina Lobaznyuk

She had not one, but two surgeries, since the first one in Moscow, Russia was not performed properly; the second was done in Johannesburg, South Africa, while visiting the city and country for a rehabilitation stint.