By: HISTORY.com Editors

1960

Massacre in Sharpeville

Published: July 21, 2010Last Updated: January 24, 2025

In the Black township of Sharpeville, near Johannesburg, South Africa, Afrikaner police open fire on a group of unarmed Black South African demonstrators, killing 69 people and wounding 180 in a hail of submachine-gun fire. The demonstrators were protesting against the South African government’s restriction of nonwhite travel. In the aftermath of the Sharpeville massacre, protests broke out in Cape Town, and more than 10,000 people were arrested before government troops restored order.

The incident convinced anti-apartheid leader Nelson Mandela to abandon his nonviolent stance and organize paramilitary groups to fight South Africa’s system of institutionalized racial discrimination. In 1964, after some minor military action, Mandela was convicted of sabotage and sentenced to life in prison. He was released after 27 years and in 1994 was elected the first Black president of South Africa.

Timeline

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1678

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1778

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1804

Napoleonic Code approved in France

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1871

Journalist begins search for Dr. Livingstone

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1918

Germany begins major offensive on the Western Front

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1943

Another plot to kill Hitler foiled

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1947

President Truman orders loyalty checks of federal employees

In response to fears and Congressional investigations into communism in the United States, President Harry S. Truman issues an executive decree establishing a sweeping loyalty investigation of federal employees. As the Cold War began to develop after World War II, fears concerning communist activity in the United States, particularly in the federal government, increased. Congress […]

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1952

The Moondog Coronation Ball is history’s first rock concert

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1956

James Wong Howe becomes first Asian American to win an Academy Award

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1963

Alcatraz closes its doors

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1965

Martin Luther King Jr. begins the march from Selma to Montgomery

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1980

President Carter announces Olympic boycott

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1980

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For decades, the country's Black majority was controlled by racist laws enshrining white supremacy.

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Key Steps That Led to End of Apartheid

A combination of internal and international resistance to apartheid helped dismantle the white supremacist regime.

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Citation Information

Article Title: Massacre in Sharpeville
Author: HISTORY.com Editors
Website Name: History
URL: https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/march-21/massacre-in-sharpeville

Date Accessed: October 29, 2026
Publisher: A&E Television Networks
Last Updated: January 24, 2025
Original Published Date: July 21, 2010

Massacre in Sharpeville

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African History

The Nubian Queen Who Fought Back Caesar’s Army

The Harsh Reality of Life Under Apartheid in South Africa

Key Steps That Led to End of Apartheid

About the author

Fact Check

Citation Information