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| 1870 | Birth |  |
| 24th May Bovenplaats Africa Birth of Jan Chris tian Smuts |
| 1870 | Education |  |
| 24th May Cambridge Africa Completes law studies at Chris t's College |
| 1881 | Conference of Pretoria |  |
| Pretoria Africa The Trans vaal becomes an independent Afrikaner republic at the Convention of Pretoria |
| 1881 | Independence |  |
| Pretoria Africa The Trans vaal becomes an independent Afrikaner republic at the Convention of Pretoria |
| 1886 | Education |  |
| Stellenbosch Africa Smuts attends Victoria College, learns High Dutch, German & Ancient Greek & immerses himself in literature, the classics & Bible studies |
| 1891 | Education |  |
| Stellenbosch Africa Graduates with double First-class honours in Literature & Science |
| Cambridge Africa Wins the Ebden scholarship for overseas study & reads law at Chris t's College, Cambridge |
| 1895 | Legal Adviser Smuts |  |
| Appointed Personal Legal Advisor to Rhodes |
| 1895 | Profession |  |
| June Cape Town Africa Returns to Sth Africa to practise law at Cape Town bar |
| 1896 | Jameson Raid |  |
| Smuts resigns from public life after his outrage at the James on Raid |
| 1897 | Citizenship |  |
| Renounces British citizenship |
| 1897 | Marriage |  |
| Marries Sybella Krige |
| 1898 | Conference of Bloemfontein |  |
| Bloemfontein Africa Martinus Steyn called for a peace conference at Bloemfontein to settle the Boer & British grievances |
| Bloemfontein Africa With an intimate knowledge of the British, Smuts takes control of the Trans vaal delegation |
| 1898 | State Attorney |  |
| Appointed State Attorney, Smuts wrote a legal thesis in support of Kruger, who rewards Smuts as State Attorney |
| 1899 | Declaration of War |  |
| 11th Oct The Boer republics declare war on the United Kingdom |
| 1901 | Commander |  |
| Commands the Republican forces in the Cape of Good Hope |
| Smuts serves as Kruger's eyes & ears, handling propaganda, logistics, communication with generals & diplomats |
| 1901 | Siege of Cape Good Hope |  |
| Cape Good Hope Africa Hopes to raise a rebellion against the British & disrupt their lines of communication |
| Cape Good Hope Africa Leads a failed Boer raid on the Cape of Good Hope |
| 1902 | Conference of Vereeniging |  |
| Kroonstad Africa Before the Conference, Smuts met Lord Kitchener at Kroonstad station where they discussed the proposed terms of surrender |
| Vereeniging Africa Joins Botha in negotiating a peace with Kitchener |
| Vereeniging Africa Leading role in the negotiations between the representatives from commandos from the Orange Free State & the SouthAfrican Republics |
| Vereeniging Africa The Conference vots 54 to 6 in favour of peace |
| 31st May Vereeniging Africa Representatives of the Governments meet Lord Kitchener and at 5 minutes past 11 on May 31st 1902 Acting President Burger signs the Peace Treaty |
| 1904 | Constitution |  |
| Johannesburg Africa The Afrikaaner Het Volk party founds the Responsible Government Association |
| Johannesburg Africa The Afrikaan party opposes the Lyttelton Constitution |
| 1904 | Het Volk |  |
| May Trans vaal generals to form a political party, Het Volk, to fight for the Afrikaner cause. Louis Botha is elected leader, & Smuts his deputy |
| 1904 | RGA |  |
| Johannesburg Africa The Afrikaaner Het Volk party founds the Responsible Government Association |
| 1905 | Constitution |  |
| Negotiates a constitution with Campbell-Bannerman |
| 1905 | Independence |  |
| Botha sends Smuts to London to plead with the newly elected Liberal government |
| Negotiates a constitution with Campbell-Bannerman |
| Transvaal Africa Smuts joins Botha in London, & seeks to negotiate full self-government for the Trans vaal within British SouthAfrica. |
| 1906 | Election |  |
| Transvaal Africa Smuts wins a comfortable victory in the Wonderboom constituency, near Pretoria |
| Transvaal Africa The People's Party win a landslide & Botha forms the government |
| 1907 | Colonial Secretary |  |
| Transvaal Africa Appointed Colonial Secretary of the Trans vaal |
| 1907 | Constitution |  |
| Favors unitary rather than federal government for a future unified Sth Africa |
| 1907 | Education |  |
| Appointed Education Secretary of the Trans vaal |
| 1907 | Unification |  |
| Favors unitary rather than federal government for a future unified Sth Africa |
| 1908 | Constitution |  |
| 12th Oct Durban Africa 1st day of the convention which determines the government & constitition of Sth Africa |
| 12th Oct Durban Africa Smuts calls for a constitutional convention |
| 12th Oct Durban Africa Submits his scheme for a Sth African Union to the National Convention |
| 12th Oct Durban Africa The constitutional convention represents 4 colonies, natives of Sth Africa excluded |
| Dec London Africa Smuts & Botha take the constitution to London, where it is passed by Parliament, & signed into law by Edward VII |
| Dec London Africa The Union of SouthAfrica is born, the Afrikaners hold the key to political power, they forme the largest part of the electorate |
| 1908 | Convention Constitution |  |
| 12th Oct Durban Africa Smuts calls for a constitutional convention |
| 12th Oct The convention represents the 4 colonies but natives of Sth Africa are excluded |
| 1908 | Minister of Defense |  |
| Appointed Minister of Defense |
| 1908 | Minister of Interior |  |
| Appointed Minister of the Interior |
| 1908 | Minister of Mines |  |
| Appointed Minister of Mines |
| 1908 | South African Party |  |
| To solidify their dominance of SouthAfrican politics, the Afrikaners united to form the SouthAfrican Party, a new pan-SouthAfrican Afrikaner party |
| 1908 | Unification |  |
| Submits his scheme for a Sth African Union to the National Convention |
| Dec London Africa Smuts & Botha take the constitution to London, where it is passed by Parliament, & signed into law by Edward VII |
| 1913 | Conference of South African Party |  |
| At the SouthAfrican Party conference, the Old Boers , of Hertzog, Steyn, & De Wet, call for Botha & Smuts to step down but the 3 resign |
| 1914 | Martial Law |  |
| A railway strike turns into a general strike & Smuts declares martial law |
| 1914 | Rebellion |  |
| Government forces under the command of Botha & Smuts put down the rebellion without it igniting into a Third Boer War |
| The government is faced with open rebellion by Lt Col Manie Maritz and others in the Maritz Rebellion |
| 1914 | South African Defence Force |  |
| Smuts forms the SouthAfrican Defence Force |
| 1914 | Strike |  |
| A railway strike turns into a general strike & Smuts declares martial law |
| 1915 | Capture of South West Africa |  |
| Smuts & Louis Botha lead the SouthAfrican army into German Namibia & capture it |
| 1915 | Invasion of South West Africa |  |
| Smuts & Louis Botha lead the SouthAfrican army into German Namibia & capture it |
| 1916 | Commander |  |
| Appointed Commander of the British troops in British East Africa |
| 1916 | Invasion of German East Africa |  |
| Smuts is put in charge of the conquest of German East Africa |
| 1916 | South African Party |  |
| Helps lead the SouthAfrican Party, a new pan-SouthAfrican Afrikaner party |
| 1917 | RAF |  |
| 17th Aug Reccomends the creation of an RAF capable of a German bombing offensive |
| 17th Aug Recommends the Royal Flying Corps & Royal Naval Air Service join under an Air Ministry |
| 1917 | War Cabinet |  |
| Appointed Member of the Imperial War Cabinet by Lloyd George |
| 1919 | Conference of Paris |  |
| Paris Africa Smuts & Botha are key negotiators at the Paris Peace Conference, they favour reconciliation with Germany & limited reparations |
| 1919 | Prime Minister |  |
| Appointed Prime Minister of SouthAfrica, 1st term |
| 1919 | Rule of Namibia |  |
| The treaty of Versailles gives SouthAfrica a mandate over Namibia, which wis occupied from 1919 until 1990 |
| 1919 | Treaty of Versailles |  |
| The treaty of Versailles gives SouthAfrica a mandate over Namibia, which wis occupied from 1919 until 1990 |
| 1921 | Massacre Bulhoek |  |
| Bulhoek Africa The police kill 183 unarmed peasants |
| 1924 | Election |  |
| Smuts is defeated by the National Party |
| 1926 | Publication |  |
| Publication of, "Holism and Evolution" |
| 1933 | Deputy Prime Minister |  |
| Pretoria Africa Appointed Deputy Prime Minister |
| 1933 | Minister of Justice |  |
| Appointed Minister of Justice |
| 1939 | Diplomacy |  |
| 6th Sep Sth Africa severs relations with Germany |
| 1939 | Imperial War Cabinet |  |
| 6th Sep Appointed Member of the Imperial War Cabinet as the most senior SouthAfrican in favour of war |
| 1939 | Prime Minister |  |
| 5th Sep Appointed Prime Minister of Sth Africa, 2nd term |
| 1940 | Economy |  |
| The Indus trial Development Corporartion is founded |
| 1940 | Industrial Development Corporartion |  |
| The Indus trial Development Corporartion is founded |
| 1941 | Field Marshal |  |
| Appointed Field Marshal of the British Army, the 1st SouthAfrican to hold that rank |
| 1942 | Strike |  |
| War Measure 145 is introduced to prohibit strikes by Africans |
| 1943 | Election |  |
| Wins the election with 110 seats, a triumph for the United Party & pro-war coalition |
| 1943 | Legislation |  |
| Asiatic Trading & Occupation of Land Restriction Act |
| 1943 | Prime Minister |  |
| Appointed Prime Minister of SouthAfrica, 3rd term |
| 1944 | Demonstrations |  |
| Johannesburg Africa 20,000 protest against the Pass Laws |
| 1944 | Overlord |  |
| 15th May London Africa Montgomerry presents the Overlord plan to Commanders, the King, Smuts & Churchill |
| 1945 | Conference of San Francisco |  |
| San Francisco Africa Entrusted with the task of drawing up the Preamble to the United Nations Charter |
| 1945 | United Nations |  |
| San Francisco Africa Entrusted with the task of drawing up the Preamble to the United Nations Charter |
| 1946 | Reform |  |
| Judge Fagan is appointed a Commission Chairman to consider reforming the Pass Laws |
| 1947 | Diplomacy |  |
| Visited by the British Royal family |
| 21st Jan Pretoria Africa Refuses to place Namibia under UN trusteeship |
| 1948 | Chancellor |  |
| Cambridge Africa Appointed Chancellor of Cambridge University, the first foreigner to hold that position |
| 1948 | Election |  |
| Daniel Fran‡ois Malan's pro-Apartheid policies win the National Party the 1948 election |
| National Party 70 seats, Afrikaner Party 9, United Party 65 & Labour 6 |
| 1950 | Death |  |
| 11th Sep Doomkloof Africa Death of Jan Smuts , on his family farm of Doornkloof, Irene, near Pretoria, SouthAfrica at the age of 80 |
| 1950 | Resignation |  |
| June Announces intention to resign from the party leadership |