February 7: On This Day in World History … briefly
The Witwatersrand Gold Rush was a gold rush in 1886 that led to the establishment of Johannesburg, South Africa. It was a key part of the Mineral Revolution.
1886: Gold struck in Transvaal
English carpenter George Walker strikes gold in Transvaal while building a cottage for a prospector. Walker’s shovel uncovered a clear gold streak when he started digging foundations.
His discovery had geologists looking at the Witwatersrand ridge with growing excitement. Specks of the coveted metal had been discovered in nearby rivers over the previous 30 years, but there was speculation that the whole ridge might be one massive field of gold.
But locals feared the gold strike would bring hordes of troublesome, money-seeking foreigners to the area.
Most notable historic snippets or facts extracted from the book ‘On This Day’ first published in 1992 by Octopus Publishing Group Ltd, London, as well as additional supplementary information extracted from Wikipedia.
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