See also: 1864 in South Africa, other events of 1865, 1866 in South Africa and the Timeline of South African history.

Events

• Ostriches are domesticated
• Economic depression hits South Africa
• War breaks out for the second time between Orange Free State and Basothos

Births

• 12 January Johannes Francois Elias Cilliers, poet, writer and dramatist, is born

Deaths

• 13 August - Willem Cornelis Janse van Rensburg, the second president of the South African Republic, dies on his farm near Rustenburg at the age of 47