List of South African inventions and discoveries

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A classic jukskei game

The following is a list and timeline of innovations as well as inventions and discoveries that involved South African people or South Africa including predecessor states in the history of the formation of South Africa. This list covers innovation and invention in the mechanical, electronic, and industrial fields, as well as medicine, military devices and theory, artistic and scientific discovery and innovation, and ideas in religion and ethics.

18th Century

• 1743 - Jukskei - is a folksport originating from the Cape and is thought to be the forerunner of the American game Horseshoes.
• pre-1772 - Rooibos tea - the Khoisan of the Cederberg region made the tea for hundreds of years and later in 1772; naturalist Carl Thunberg noted, "the country people made tea" from a plant related to rooibos or redbush which reignited interest in the tea.^[1]

19th Century

• 1787-1828 - Iklwa - this new shorter form of the Assegai was popularized under the rule of Shaka Zulu.

20th Century

1900-1930

Dolosse - Cape Town, South Africa

• 1925 Pinotage is South Africas signature variety wine grape and was bred from a cross between Pinot noir and Cinsaut grapes.

1930-1960

• 1940's Wadley Loop the circuit was designed by Dr. Trevor Wadley and was first used for a stable Wavemeter.^[2]
• 1950 Sasol world's first oil-from-gas company and the country's largest fuel producer.
• 1950 Q20 lubricant Invented in 1950 by Mr. Robertson in Pinetown,^[2] Q20 is an all purpose lubricating spray that is owned by the Triton-Leo Group (Pty) Ltd.^[3] The name derives from "it has 20 answers to 20 questions".
• 1957 Flame ionization detector by Harley and Pretorius at the University of Pretoria in Pretoria, South Africa
• 1959 Tellurometer was the first successful microwave electronic distance measurement equipment and was also invented by Dr. Trevor Wadley.
• 1960's Helikon vortex separation processis an aerodynamic uranium enrichment process designed around a device called a vortex tube.The Uranium Enrichment Corporation of South Africa, Ltd. (UCOR) developed the process, operating a facility at Pelindaba near Pretoria.
• 1960's Pratley's Putty

The prototype CT scanner

1960-1980

• 1963 CT scan or the CAT scan was invented by Allan MacLeod Cormack and it won him the 1979 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine (along with Godfrey Hounsfield) for his work on X-ray computed tomography (CT).^[2]
• 1963 Dolos is a concrete block in a complex geometric shape weighing up to 20 tons, used in great numbers to protect harbour walls from the erosive force of ocean waves.
• 1965 Retinal cryoprobe; Selig Percy Amoils refined the cryoextraction method of cataract surgery by developing a cryoprobe that was cooled through the Joule-Thomson effect of gas expansion.
• 1965 - Vuvuzela - Freddie "Saddam" Maake claimed the invention of the vuvuzela by fabricating an aluminium version in 1965 from a bicycle horn.

Retinal Cryosurgery • While working at Soweto's Baragwanath Hospital in 1965, South Africa's Dr Selig Percy Amoils unveiled the Amoils Cryo Pencil, which is the world's first surgical tool that uses extreme cold (nitrous oxide) to destroy unwanted tissue. Dr Amoils' pencil has made retinal detachment surgery and cataract extraction simple and safe - it has been used to treat Margaret Thatcher and Nelson Mandela's eyes. His invention has transformed cryosurgery (the use of extreme cold produced by liquid nitrogen) for gynaecology, lung, heart, mouth, liver and prostate surgery.

• 1967 Heart transplantation; Dr. Christiaan Barnard completed the world's first successful heart transplantation on 3 December 1967 in Cape Town.^[2]

• Pratley’s Putty, George Pratley invented Pratley’s Putty while trying to create a glue that would hold components in an electrical box. Pratley’s Glue had a part in the success of the Moon Landing. In 1969 the substance was used to hold bits of the Apollo XI mission’s Eagle landing craft together.

• 1970 Diamond vitrectomy cutter was also invented by Selig Percy Amoils
• 1971 PayPal, co-founder Elon Musk was born in Pretoria.
• 1970's Scheffel bogie, Dr Herbert Scheffel designed a new type of Bogie in order to increase the development of South Africa's narrow gauge railway system. His new design went on to help set the world rail speed record of 245 kilometres per hour.^[4]
• 1970's Computerized ticketing; Percy Tucker of Benoni founded Computicket the world's first computerized ticketing system which went national in 1971.^[5]
• 1974 Kreepy Krauly invented by Ferdinand Chauvier, formerly from the Belgian Congo.^[6]

1980-2000

• 1980 Casspir; Unique design for military personnel carrier in relation to landmines.The main armoured steel body of the vehicle is raised high above the ground, so when a mine is detonated, the explosion is less likely to damage the crew compartment and kill the occupants. The cross-section of the hull is V-shaped, directing the force of the explosion outwards, further protecting the occupants.
• 1984 - Denel Rooivalk - the first military attack helicopter developed that is capable of making a 360 degree loop, a feat previously seen as impossible.
• 1989 Flightscope invented by Henri Johnson ^[7] it is a radar system used by professional golfers for analysing recorde trajectory, their launch angle, speed and direction.
• 1991 APS Therapy invented by Gervan Lubbeit is used to treat sports injuries and provides relief from chronic pain conditions.^[8][9]
• 1992 Speed Gun^[2] is a device that measures the speed of cricket balls; invented by Henri Johnson^[10] from Somerset West and used in the 1999 Cricket World Cup.^[8] Johnson also invented the Speedball (invention)^[8] that measures the speed and angle of objects especially cricket and tennis balls and is used in various sporting tournaments.^[8]
• 1995 Shark Shield a portable electronic device that emits an electromagnetic field and is used by scuba divers, spearfishing, ocean kayak fishing and surfers to repel sharks.
• 1995 Thawte Consulting is a certificate authority (CA) for X.509 certificates. Thawte was founded by Mark Shuttleworth.
• 1996 - Prepay Mobile Phone - Vodacom became the first network to introduce prepay mobile, under the 'Vodago' package, using an 'Intelligent Network' platform. This made it possible to debit customers’ accounts in real time,^[11] and led to a dramatic increase in uptake.^[12]
• 1997 CyberTracker a piece of software from a CyberTracker Conservation, that develops handheld data capture solutions for illeterate animal trackers.
• 1997 Hippo water roller: a device for carrying water more easily and efficiently than traditional methods, particularly in the developing world. It consists of a barrel-shaped container which holds the water and can roll along the ground, and a handle attached to the axis of the barrel.
• 1998 Blaster (flamethrower), Charl Fourie designed the flamethrower to provide a defence against carjackings.
• 1999 Smartlock Safety syringe, a three part single use syringe credited with dramatically reducing HIV infection rates in South Africa.^[13]

21st Century

• 2001 Cobb grill. Ken Hall based his design on the paraffin stove in many rural areas of South Africa, the grill was featured in the TIME magazines best inventions of the year for 2001.^[14]
• 2001 Oil-Can Guitar made by engineer Graeme Wells in Cape Town.^[5]
• 2004 Ubuntu (operating system) was invented by entrepreneur Mark Shuttleworth and runs on the Linux system.
• 2008 Freeplay foetal heart rate monitor, a power-free foetal heart monitor.^[15][16]

References