June 28 in History
1846 — Antoine-Joseph (Adolphe) Sax, Belgian inventer and musician, patents the saxophone. He also invented the saxotromba, saxhorn and saxtuba. 1859 — The first conformation dog show (aka breed show) is held in Newcastle upon Tyne, England, as an added attraction to the annual cattle show.
1895 — Louis Bosman Raymond, SA left-handed tennis player — singles gold medallist at the 1920 Olympic Games in Antwerp — is born in Pretoria. 1926 — Mercedes-Benz is formed by Gottlieb Daimler and Karl Benz merging their two companies. 1928 — Peter Heine, SA cricketer (fast bowler, 14 Tests 1955-62: 52 wickets, average 25.8, best 6/58), is born in Winterton, Natal.
1942 — Chris (Martin Thembisile) Hani, general secretary of the South African Communist Party and chief of staff of uMkhonto we Sizwe, is born in Cofimvaba, Transkei.
1954 — Alice Krige, SA actress (“Vergeet My Nie”, 1976; “Chariots of Fire, 1981; Borg Queen in “Star Wars”), is born in Upington.
1965 — Tiaan Strauss, rugby player, is born in Upington. The loose forward plays 15 Tests for SA (1992-94) and 11 for Australia (1999).
1971 — Elon Musk, billionaire engineer, industrial designer, technology entrepreneur and philanthropist, is born in Pretoria.
1976 — Luanda Trial during the Angola Civil War: After a five-day trial (June 11-16), the five judges sentence four mercenaries (three from the UK, one from the US) to death and nine others (seven UK, two US) to prison terms ranging from 16 to 30 years. Guilty verdicts were a foregone conclusion. Before the trial Luis de Almeida, the director of information and security, stated that the defendants were guilty and the only thing that needed to be determined was how much punishment to mete out. The four are executed by MPLA military police on July 10. The two Americans prisoners are released in November 1982 in a prisoner exchange worked out by the US Department of State. The UK prisoners are released in 1984 after negotiation by the British Foreign Office. 1995 — Demi-Leigh Nel-Peters, SA model — Miss Universe 2017 — is born in Sedgefield, Western Cape. 1997 — Mike Tyson is disqualified in the third round of his WBA heavyweight title rematch in Las Vegas for biting a piece off Evander Holyfield’s right ear and then biting the left. He claims he retaliated for headbutting by Holyfield. Tyson’s boxing licence is revoked by the Nevada State Athletic Commission (restored on October 18 1998) and he is fined $3m (10% of his $30m purse on the night) plus legal costs.