X-Nico

81 unusual facts about Johannesburg


1132 Hollandia

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

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.

Afropsipyla similis

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

Ahnabith Gish

Cian Rafferty Haley was also born in Calgary but was raised in Johannesburg, SA.

Aidan Higgins

In 1960 and 1961 he worked as scriptwriter for Filmlets, an advertising firm in 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.

Alex Forbes

He later emigrated to Johannesburg, South Africa, to coach children at a local private Jewish school, Yeshiva College of South Africa.

Alfred Hollins

In 1907, 1909 and 1916 he went to South Africa to give a series of concerts at Johannesburg and Cape Town, giving the opening recital for the organ at the new Town Hall in Cape Town.

Andrew Surman

Surman was born in Johannesburg, South Africa, where his parents had moved to from Britain, whilst his father worked for an insurance company.

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.

Brian Gavin

In the late 1930s Deutz was brought to South Africa to teach diamond cutting along with his brother-in-law, Solly Neuwit, at Majestic Diamond Cutting Works in Johannesburg.

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.

Claude Buckenham

In four Tests, he took 21 wickets at 28 runs apiece, including five for 115 in the first South African innings of the third Test at Johannesburg.

Come Dine With Me South Africa

Episode 1 of the first series kicked off with two ladies from the South East of Johannesburg, Estie Matheus and Michelle Jordan, jointly winning and having to share the prizes and concluded with a celebrity special featuring M-Net presenter Ashley Hayden, SuperSport’s Neil Andrews, 94.7 Highveld Stereo’s Samantha Cowen and model Sashni Naidoo.

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.

Craig Busch

In 2005, Busch arranged the exchange of New Zealand's first natively-born white tigers Tane and Aotea (born January 2005), and later Kiwi and Rongo (Born October 2, 2005) with a white lion cub named Gandor from the Rhino & Lion Nature Reserve near Johannesburg.

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.

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'."

Egoli

eGoli is the alternative, Zulu name for 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.

Eskom Centre

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

Fordsburg Square

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

Frank Wild

He was cremated on 23 August 1939 at the Braamfontein Cemetery in Johannesburg.

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.

Guyra, New South Wales

The local bowling club boasts of being the highest (elevation above sea level) bowling green in the southern hemisphere, which is in fact not correct as there are several lawn bowling clubs in Johannesburg, South Africa, which is at several hundred metres higher elevation than Guyra.

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.

Helen Joseph

Places named for her include the former Davenport Road in Glenwood, Durban, the Helen Joseph Hospital in Johannesburg, a student residence at Rhodes University (Grahamstown, South Africa), and a road in Rustenberg.

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.

Innes Harold Stranger

While on an overseas trip in 1930 he was flying from Johannesburg to Victoria Falls when the aircraft developed difficulties and had to land in a jungle clearing.

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.

Jason Johannisen

He was born in Johannesburg, South Africa, but moved to Perth with his family when he was eight years old.

Joel Pollak

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

Joop Carp

Johan Robert "Joop" Carp (January 30, 1897, Tjomal, Dutch East Indies - March 25, 1962, Johannesburg) was a sailor from the Netherlands, who represented his native country at the 1920 Summer Olympics in Ostend, Belgium.

Joseph Silver

Joseph Silver (1868-1918) also known as the "King of Pimps", was a man who terrorized women in Johannesburg, South Africa during the late 19th century and early 20th century.

Joyce Dattner

Driven by her commitment to helping people change themselves — and in the process, change the world — Joyce Dattner has become a leading practitioner of Newman and Holzman’s approach, now used in youth development programs, private and public mental health centers, alternative school initiatives, and agencies and organizations servicing diverse populations in varied settings—from New York City to Los Angeles to Johannesburg.

Kevin Harmse

Born in Johannesburg, Harmse grew up in Vancouver, British Columbia, and began his youth career training at the Roman Tulis School in Coquitlam, British Columbia.

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.

Lockheed L-1649 Starliner

ZS-DVJ (c/n 1042), currently in Trek Airways colours, is at OR Tambo International Airport, Johannesburg and is continuously threatened by the airport authorities to be scrapped if it isn't removed from the airport grounds.

Loryma sinuosalis

It was described by P. Leraut in 2007, and is known from South Africa (the type location is Johannesburg).

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.

Lufthansa Flight 540

The flight was operating the final segment of its FrankfurtNairobiJohannesburg route.

Lujo virus

Its name was suggested by the Special Pathogens Unit of the National Institute for Communicable Diseases of the National Health Laboratory Service (NICD-NHLS) by using the first two letters of the names of the cities involved in the 2008 outbreak of the disease, Lusaka (Zambia) and Johannesburg (Republic of South Africa).

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.

Mário Crespo

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

Mariston Hotel

The Mariston Hotel is a skyscraper and hotel in the Central Business District of Johannesburg, South Africa.

Mayor of Johannesburg

The Mayor of Johannesburg is the chief executive of the City Council and the highest elected position in the city of Johannesburg, South Africa.

Michael Wines

Previously, he had been The New York Times 's bureau chief in Johannesburg and Moscow.

Miles Sparrowhawk

In 1936 Victor Smith entered Sparrowhawk G-AELT into the Schlesinger Race from Portsmouth to Johannesburg but had problems with oil after Salonika and eventually retired in Khartoum.

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.

Molly Harrower

Dr. Harrower was born in Johannesburg, South Africa, the daughter of James Harrower and Ina White, while they were visiting.

Nagappan Padayatchi

The hall is located on the corner of Ferreira and Marshall streets in down town 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.

Public art in Johannesburg

The city of Johannesburg is home to an extensive portfolio of public art.

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.

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.

Revive China Society

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.

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.

Ron Hoffmann

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

Sonja Schlesin

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

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

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.

Sydney Maree

In 1995 he moved back to South Africa, later forming the asset management group Franklin Zamani, in Johannesburg, of which he became the CEO.

The Brother Moves On

Nkululeko, Siyabonga and Zelizwe Mthembu grew up together in the East Rand of Johannesburg, South Africa.

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

Tom Campbell Black

In the same year, Tom Black had entered in an air race from England to Johannesburg, South Africa, "The Schlesinger Race", flown from 29 September 1936 to 1 October 1936, the race offered a prize of £10,000 to the winner.

Trust Bank Building

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

Usakos

It is located on the B2 (Trans-Kalahari Highway), the main road between the Walvis Bay and Johannesburg.

Véronique Tadjo

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

Vilankulo

It is home to an a new international airport, which serves daily flights to several regional destinations, including Johannesburg, Maputo, Swaziland,and elsewhere.

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).

WorldCamps

The children at Sizanani come from the townships of Johannesburg, the nation's largest city.

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.

Zulu Love Letter

Thandeka, a young black journalist, lives in fear of Johannesburg’s past.


Aerolift

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

Airspeed Envoy

Maxwell Findlay fatally crashed another Envoy, modified with long-range fuel tanks, in northern Rhodesia during the October 1936 Johannesburg Air Race.

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.

Big Fellas

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

Blood Knot

The play was most recently performed in Johannesburg, South Africa in 2010 as part of Mandela Day celebrations, with Michael Brando playing the lead role of Morris.

Charlayne Hunter-Gault

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

Crown of Beauty Theatre

before=Alexandra Palace
London, England (2002)

Sala Kongresowa
Warsaw, Poland (2006)

Gallagher Convention Center,
Johannesburg, South Africa

Currie Cup

Falcons (Afrikaans: Valke) - the East Rand and other municipalities to the east and south of Johannesburg (home matches in Brakpan)

Deyan Nedelchev

Deyan is the only Bulgarian singer to record an album with Polygram, with whom he had a 3-year contract based in Johannesburg, South Africa.

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.

Gandhi House

Satyagraha House, a house built for Gandhi and Hermann Kallerbach in Johannesburg

GIBS

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

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.

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.

Isango Portobello

Isango has since performed The Magic Flute - Impempe Yomlingo in Dublin, Chichester, Canterbury, Tokyo, Singapore, Johannesburg, Rotterdam and Paris.

Jewish Museum, Emmendingen

Emma Schwarz: Emmendingen - Gurs - Johannesburg, a Jewish woman from Emmendingen writes about her life under the Nazi regime and her later emigration with her son to South Africa.

Johannesburg Muslim School

Johannesburg Muslim School is a partly private school situated in Fordsburg, Johannesburg, South Africa.

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.

Mariano Tullio Troia

Italian police claimed Troia had moved to South Africa where he was being harboured by Salvatore Morettino, a naturalised South African citizen living in Houghton (a wealthy suburb of Johannesburg), according to Western Cape police intelligence in a March 1998 briefing.

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.

Melanie Weisner

At the 2012 World Poker Tour in Johannesburg, South Africa, Weisner claimed her first major title, taking down the $1,000 no-limit six-max event for $41,289, defeating former EPT champion Lucien Cohen heads-up.

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.

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.

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 Heard

in political science at the University of the Witwatersrand (Johannesburg) and then spent a year at Harvard on a Frank Knox Fellowship, where his teachers included Henry Kissinger and John Kenneth Galbraith.

Rensburg

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

Roodepoort

Roodepoort has a growing student population due to the presence of Monash University South Africa and has seen large population growth due to Johannesburg urban sprawl.

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)

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.

Soweto Open

It was held at the Arthur Ashe Tennis Centre in the Soweto urban area of Johannesburg, South Africa, from 2009 to 2011.

Susman Brothers

Max Sonnenberg controlled Cape Town stores, and Elie Susman controlled Transvaal stores which included Johannesburg.

Trans Air Congo

Late 1997 saw the airline having to move temporarily to Johannesburg in South Africa to avoid a civil war.

World Health Summit

Makarere University of Uganda was admitted as the first M8 Alliance member from Africa in 2013, though foundation member Monash University has a campus in Johannesburg, South Africa.