Kimberley (Khoekhoe: ǃ’Ās; Tswana: Kimbali) is the capital and largest city of the Northern Cape province of South Africa. It is located about 110 km (68 mi) east of the confluence of the Vaal and Orange Rivers. The city has considerable historical significance because of its diamond-mining past and the siege during the Second Boer War. British businessmen Cecil Rhodes and Barney Barnato made their fortunes in Kimberley, and Rhodes also established the De Beers diamond company in the early days of the mining town.
On 2 September 1882, Kimberley became the first city in the Southern Hemisphere and the second in the world after Philadelphia, in the United States, to install electric street lighting. The first stock exchange in Africa was built in Kimberley as early as 1881.
HistoryLayer draws the world as it was in any year from 123,000 BCE to
2026. Move the slider and the borders redraw for that year; the map
carries 23,890 events, 12,790 people, 837 wars and 13,183 cities, each
one readable in place. Signing in is optional and lets you keep what
you find.