1773 253 years ago Historical Events June 1 3 sources

Wolraad Woltemade rescues 14 sailors at the Cape of Good Hope from the sinking ship De Jonge Thomas by riding his horse into the sea seven times. Both he and his horse, Vonk, are drowned on his eighth attempt.

On June 1, in the year 1773, Wolraad Woltemade rescues 14 sailors at the Cape of Good Hope from the sinking ship De Jonge Thomas by riding his horse into the sea seven times. Both he and his horse, Vonk, are drowned on his eighth attempt. This event is recorded as a Historical Events event in the history of June 1, one of 430 recorded events on this date across all of history.

Wolraad Woltemade 1708 – 1 June 1773 was a Cape Dutch dairy farmer, who died while rescuing sailors from the wreck of the ship De Jonge Thomas in Table Bay on 1 June 1773. The story was reported by the Swedish naturalist Carl Peter Thunberg who was in South Africa as a surgeon for the Dutch East India Company at the time.

Key Facts

  • This event took place on June 1, 1773 (AD era).
  • It is categorised as a Historical Events event in recorded history.
  • Referenced in 3 Wikipedia articles.
  • Wikipedia source last updated on 8 March 2026.

On This Date in History 430

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Selected Events 2015 Jun 1 The river cruise ship Dongfang zhi Xing capsized in the Yangtze, resulting in 442 deaths in China's worst peacetime mari
Notable Deaths 2014 Jun 1 Ann B
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Notable Deaths 2013 Jun 1 James Kelleher, Canadian lawyer and politician, 33rd Solicitor General of Canada (born 1930)
Notable Deaths 2012 Jun 1 Faruq Z
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Historical Events 2011 Jun 1 A rare tornado outbreak occurs in New England; a strong EF3 tornado strikes Springfield, Massachusetts, during the event
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Notable Deaths 2010 Jun 1 Kazuo Ohno, Japanese dancer (born 1906)
Notable Deaths 2010 Jun 1 Andrei Voznesensky, Russian poet (born 1933)
Historical Events 2009 Jun 1 Air France Flight 447 crashes into the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of Brazil on a flight from Rio de Janeiro to Paris
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Notable Deaths 2009 Jun 1 Vincent O'Brien, Irish horse trainer (born 1917)
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Notable Deaths 2008 Jun 1 Tommy Lapid, Israeli journalist and politician, 17th Justice Minister of Israel (born 1931)
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Selected Events 2008 Jun 1 A fire on the back lot of Universal Studios Hollywood destroyed the King Kong Encounter and a large archive of music and
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Notable Deaths 2007 Jun 1 Tony Thompson, American singer and songwriter (born 1975)
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Historical Events 2004 Jun 1 Oklahoma City bombing co-conspirator Terry Nichols is sentenced to 161 consecutive life terms without the possibility of
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Historical Events 2001 Jun 1 Nepalese royal massacre: Crown Prince Dipendra of Nepal shoots and kills several members of his family including his fat
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Selected Events 1999 Jun 1 On landing at Little Rock National Airport in the U
Notable Births 1996 Jun 1 Edvinas Gertmonas, Lithuanian footballer
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This article draws on content from Wikipedia, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.

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