All honorary graduates
This list gives the names of distinguished men and women on whom the University has, since its inception, bestowed high academic honours in the form of degrees awarded honoris causa. Names of graduates known to be living at the time of publication are shown in italics.
Doctor's degrees
Architecture | Commerce | Economic Sciences | Education | Fine Art | Laws | Literature | Medicine | Music | Philosophy | Science | Science in Engineering | Science in Medicine | Social Science
Master's degrees
Arts | Arts in Architecture | Business Administration | City Planning and Urban Design | Education | Fine Art | Music | Science | Science in Medicine | Social Science
| 1998 | Julian Arnold Elliott |
| 2001 | Revel Albert Ellis Fox |
| 2001 | Raymond Ackerman |
| 2001 | Wiseman Lumkile Nkuhlu |
| 2010 | Tito Mboweni David Lewis |
| 1989 | Leonard George Abrahamse |
| 1996 | William Gordon Bowen |
| 1997 | Michael John Levett |
| 1986 | Samuel Mokgethi Motsuenyane |
| 2000 2006 |
John Davan, Lord Sainsbury Amartya Kumar Sen |
| 1983 | Richard Samuel Sonnenberg |
| 2004 | Christopher Louis Sunter |
| 1993 | Sheila Terreblanche van der Horst |
| 2010 | Victor Ritchie |
| 2009 | Richard Dudley |
| 1994 | Nomvula Mtetwa |
| 1984 | Alan Jay Pifer |
| 1997 | Franklin Abraham Sonn |
| 2001 | David Goldblatt |
| 2010 | Judge Navi Pillay Baroness Lynda Chalker |
| 2008 | Advocate George Bizos Claire Palley |
| 2007 | Lord Steyn (Johan van Zijl Steyn) Aung San Suu Kyi |
| 2002 | Kofi Annan |
| 2007 | Aung San Suu Kyi |
| 1962 | Margaret Livingstone Ballinger |
| 1940 | William Duncan Baxter |
| 1939 | Sir John Carruthers Beattie |
| 1920 | Sir Otto Beit |
| 1935 | William Henry Bell |
| 1940 | William Gavan Bennie |
| 1943 | Colin Graham Botha |
| 1950 | Martinus Christoffel Botha |
| 1977 | Guerino Renzo Bozzoli |
| 1974 | Albertonie Herman Broeksma |
| 1955 | Edgar Harry Brookes |
| 1979 | Mangosuthu Gatsha Buthelezi |
| 1920 | Viscount Buxton |
| 2004 | Cheryl Ann Carolus |
| 1956 | Albert Victor Heron Carter |
| 1951 | The Hon Albert van der Sandt Centlivres |
| 1943 | Gabriel Gideon Cillie |
| 1954 | Ernest Marshall Owen Clough |
| 1982 | Michael McGregor Corbett |
| 1968 | Clive Sinclair Corder |
| 1962 2006 |
William Hofmeyr Craib Dennis Martin Davis |
| 1956 | Michiel Hendrik de Kock |
| 1950 | Alfred Aaron de Pass |
| 1977 | David Pieter de Villiers |
| 1959 | Jean Etienne de Villiers |
| 1990 | Réne Marquard de Villiers |
| 1968 | Johannes Christiaan de Wet |
| 1990 | John Mowbray Didcott |
| 1976 | Marius Anné Diemont |
| 1996 | Christopher John Robert Dugard |
| 1939 | The Rt Hon Sir Patrick Duncan |
| 1973 | Jacobus Petrus Duminy |
| 1991 | Sheena Duncan |
| 1925 | HRH Edward, Prince of Wales |
| 1997 | Colin Wells Eglin |
| 1947 | Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth |
| 2003 | Johannes Jacobus Fagan |
| 1948 | Arthur Wellesley Falconer |
| 1994 | Robert Feenstra |
| 1963 | William Fehr |
| 1940 | Edward Barnard Fuller |
| 1950 | Maria Emmeline Fuller |
| 1958 | Percival Carleton Gane |
| 1934 | The Hon Frederick George Gardiner |
| 1997 | Frene Noshur Ginwala |
| 1993 | Richard Joseph Goldstone |
| 2007 | Pravin Gordhan |
| 1996 | Gerald Gordon |
| 1974 | Marie Lydia Grant |
| 1954 | Leopold Greenberg |
| 1945 | James Stevenson Hamilton |
| 1947 2006 |
Sidney Henry Haughton Sir Bob AlexanderHepple |
| 1940 | David Bennie Hewat |
| 1990 | Anthony Maurice Honoré |
| 1977 | William Harold Hutt |
| 1929 | John William Jagger |
| 2000 | Jeffrey Jowell |
| 1979 | Ellison Kahn |
| 1987 | Sir Sydney Woolf Kentridge |
| 1934 | The Rev John Daniel Kestell |
| 1952 | Ralph Kilpin |
| 1927 | Sir John Gilbert Kotze |
| 1948 | Hermann Heinrich Kreft |
| 2001 | Pius Nkonzo Langa |
| 1951 | Sidney Warren Lavis |
| 1925 | The Rev Robert Laws |
| 1929 | Charles Edwardes Levis |
| 1929 | Sir Frederick Spencer Lister |
| 1945 | Thomas Loveday |
| 1929 | The Hon Daniel François Malan |
| 1999 | Ismail Mahomed |
| 1960 | Ernst Gideon Malherbe |
| 1990 | Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela |
| 1953 | Alexander Butter McDonald |
| 2000 | Nomaindia Mfeketo |
| 2002 | Wallace Amos Mgoqi |
| 1948 | Lady Lilian Michaelis |
| 1923 | Sir Maximilian Michaelis |
| 1988 | Hans Wilhelm Middelmann |
| 1950 | Henry Alford Moffat |
| 1989 | The Rt Rev Mmntlanyane Stanley Mogoba |
| 1965 | Henry Anderson Molteno |
| 1925 | The Rev Adriaan Moorrees |
| 1959 | John Murray Murray |
| 1959 | Stefan Meiring Naudé |
| 1968 | Sarel François Oosthuizen |
| 2004 | Catherine Mary Elizabeth O'Regan |
| 1968 | Sir Arnold Plant |
| 1997 | Matamela Cyril Ramaphosa |
| 1951 | Humphrey Rivas Raikes |
| 1926 | The Hon Frances William Reitz |
| 1968 | Francois Charles Robb |
| 1959 | Alfred Adrian Roberts |
| 1927 | The Rt Hon Sir James Rose-Innes |
| 1979 | Anthony Edward Rupert |
| 1923 | The Rev John Munro Russell |
| 2006 | Albert Louis Sachs |
| 1998 | Salim Ahmed Salim |
| 1958 | The Hon Oliver Deneys Schreiner |
| 1955 | Albert Schweitzer |
| 1994 | Harold Jack Simons |
| 1959 | Thomas Broun Smith |
| 1929 | Sir William Henry Solomon |
| 1955 | Nellie Brown Spilhaus |
| 1983 | Erwin Spiro |
| 1969 | Stephen Henry Stackpole |
| 1929 | Sir Walter Ernest Mortimer Stanford |
| 1962 | Allan Farquhar Stephen |
| 1985 | Jan Hendrik Steyn |
| 2007 | Johan van Zijl Steyn |
| 1986 | Helen Suzman |
| 1971 | Joyce Thompson |
| 1974 | Newton Ogilvie Thompson |
| 1922 | Sir William Thomson |
| 1993 | The Most Rev Desmond Mpilo Tutu |
| 1940 | Hendrik Johannes van der Byl |
| 1975 | Pieter Voltelyn Graham van der Byl |
| 1975 | Abraham Johannes van der Merwe |
| 1979 | Richard Ernest van der Ross |
| 1957 | Hendrik Johannes van Eck |
| 1929 | The Rev Johannes Petrus van Heerden |
| 1981 | Paul van Warmelo |
| 1968 | The Hon Jacques Theodore van Wyk |
| 1948 | Gideon Brand van Zyl |
| 1944 | Ernest Frederick Watermeyer |
| 1929 | Jane Elizabeth Waterston |
| 1940 | Frederick Kilgour Wiener |
| 1959 2006 |
George Wille Rheinhard Zimmermann |
| 2010 | Sir Antony Sher Janet Suzman Peter Magubane |
| 2007 | David Kramer Taliep Petersen |
| 2002 | Chinua Achebe |
| 1999 | Richard Samuel Attenborough |
| 1995 | John Maxwell Coetzee |
| 1983 | Christian Frederick Beyers Naudé |
| 1980 | Izak David du Plessis |
| 1922 | The Rev Johannes du Plessis |
| 1948 | Jacob Daniel du Toit |
| 1984 | Athol Harold Lannigan Fugard |
| 1978 | Michael Gelfand |
| 1995 | Gert Johannes Gerwel |
| 1986 | Nadine Gordimer |
| 1983 | Samson Mbizo Guma |
| 1967 | Theodore Johannes Haarhoff |
| 1993 | Robin Hallett |
| 1966 2006 |
Sir Keith Hancock Bonisile John Kani |
| 1994 | Mendel Israel Kaplan |
| 1954 | Barend Batholomeus Keet |
| 1929 | Monsignor Frederick Charles Kolbe |
| 2007 | David Kramer |
| 2006 | David Lewis-Williams |
| 1982 | Sir Richard Edmonds Luyt |
| 1994 | Shula Eta Marks |
| 1968 | Owen Cardinal McCann |
| 2003 | Es’kia Mphahlele |
| 1985 | Harry Frederick Oppenheimer |
| 1980 | Diederik Johannes Opperman |
| 2007 | Taliep Petersen |
| 1929 | William Ritchie |
| 1951 | Maria Elizabeth Rothmann |
| 1950 | Oscar John Soley Satchel |
| 1975 | Isaac Schapera |
| 2000 | Karel Schoeman |
| 1967 | Christiaan Gustav Waldemar Schumann |
| 1958 | Oswald St Clair |
| 2000 | Akinwande Oluwole Soyinka |
| 1998 2006 |
Leonard Monteath Thompson Thomas Tlou |
| 2003 | Pieter-Dirk Uys |
| 1968 | Nicolaas Petrus van Wyk Louw |
| 1987 | Marthinus Versfeld |
| 1968 | Eric Anderson Walker |
| 2010 | Professor Jerry Coovadia |
| 2001 | Frances Ames |
| 1986 | Thomas Hamilton Bothwell |
| 1996 | Helen Annan Brown |
| 1990 | Maatje Vera Bührmann |
| 1986 | Daniel Jakob du Plessis |
| 1989 | Robert Johannes Goetz |
| 2002 | Siamon Gordon |
| 1987 | Arthur Landau |
| 1982 | Jan Hendrik Louw |
| 1998 | Hannah-Reeve Sanders |
| 1984 | Leo Schamroth |
| 1987 | Golda Selzer |
| 1996 | Lamar Crowson |
| 2000 | Angelo Gobbato |
| 1957 | Elsie Hall |
| 1976 | Dulcie Joyce Lind Howes |
| 1996 | Abdullah Ibrahim |
| 1993 | Miriam Zenzi Makeba |
| 1963 | Joseph Salvatore Manca |
| 1941 | William Joseph Pickerill |
| 1982 | Ivy Priaulx Rainier |
| 1965 | Hugh Travers Tracey |
| 1972 | Arnoldus Christian Vlok van Wyk |
| 1948 | Theophil Otto Frederick Charles Wendt |
| 1999 | Kader Asmal |
| 1999 | Graça Sinhala Machel |
| 2003 | The Most Rev Njongonkulu Winston Hugh Ndungane |
| 2002 | Mark Shuttleworth |
| 2009 | Emeritus Professor Brian Warner Emeritus Professor George Ellis |
| 2008 | Professor Jonathan Dorfan Lord Leonard Wolfson |
| 2007 | Professor George Philander |
| 1929 | Othenio Abel |
| 1955 | Raymond Albert Alexander |
| 2000 | Bernhard Banaschewski |
| 1967 | Christiaan Neethling Barnard |
| 1990 | Charles Kimberlin Brain |
| 1929 | Abbé Henri Edouard Prosper Breuil |
| 1979 | Christiaan van der Merwe Brink |
| 1979 | John Fleming Brock |
| 1929 | Robert Broom |
| 1967 | Andries Charles Cilliers |
| 1985 | John Desmond Clark |
| 1929 | Henry Clay |
| 1979 | Jack Nicol Coetzee |
| 1968 | Robert Harold Compton |
| 1929 | Willem de Sitter |
| 1985 | Jacobus Stephanus de Wet |
| 1944 | Alexander Logie du Toit |
| 1943 | Petrus Johann du Toit |
| 1972 | Guy Abercrombie Elliot |
| 1993 | Michael William Feast |
| 1930 | Henry Georges Fourcade |
| 1990 | Christopher Friedrich Garbers |
| 2000 | Wieland Gevers |
| 2005 | Arnold Lewis Gordon |
| 1929 | Jan Hendrik Hofmeyr |
| 2000 | Trefor Jenkins |
| 1929 | Erich Kaiser |
| 1982 | Arthur Kipps |
| 1997 | Sir Aaron Klug |
| 1925 | Sir Robert Nelson Kotze |
| 1929 | Rudolf Marloth |
| 1990 | Jean Mayer |
| 1929 | John Todd Morrison |
| 1921 | Sir Thomas Muir |
| 1988 | Frank Reginald Nunes Nabarro |
| 1968 | Cecily Kathleen Niven |
| 1935 | Alexander Ogg |
| 1968 | Henry Olivier |
| 2007 | Samuel George Harker Philander |
| 1953 | Adrianus Pijper |
| 1984 | William Sage Rapson |
| 1952 | Gilbert Westacott Reynolds |
| 1923 | Arthur William Rogers |
| 1929 | Lord Rutherford |
| 1955 | Terence MacLeale Salter |
| 1945 | Basil Ferdinand Jamieson Schonland |
| 1995 | Jacques Pierre Friedrich Sellschop |
| 1929 | Albert Charles Seward |
| 1931 | Jan Christiaan Smuts |
| 1974 | Gert Johannes Stander |
| 1976 | Richard Hugh Stoy |
| 1979 | Niko Stutterheim |
| 1935 | Sir Arnold Theiler |
| 1988 | Phillip Vallentine Tobias |
| 1998 | Johann Carl Vogel |
| 1926 | Willem Cornelis van der Sterr |
| 1929 | Josef Georg von Hevesy |
| 1976 | Trevor Lloyd Wadley |
| 1929 | David Meredith Seares Watson |
| 1968 | Sir Richard van der Riet Woolley |
| 1935 | Robert Burns Young |
| 2008 | Lord Leonard Wolfson |
Doctor of Science in Engineering
| 2007 | Mark Eberhard Dry |
| 1943 | Alfred Dale Lewis |
| 1995 | Algernon Charles Liebenberg |
| 1999 | John Brand Martin |
| 2008 | Dr Eric Goemaere |
| 2005 | Mahomed Fareed Aboobaker Abdullah |
| 1999 | Sidney Cywes |
| 2008 | Eric Goemaere |
| 1992 | John Derek Lindsell Hansen |
| 1998 | Ralph George Hendrickse |
| 1993 | Sir Raymond Hoffenberg |
| 1988 | Stuart John Saunders |
| 2009 | Professor Gavin Mooney |
| 2008 | Professor Archie Mafeje Dr Lillian Cingo |
| 2004 | Alexander Lionel Boraine |
| 2004 | Kurt Danziger |
| 2008 | Lillian Cingo |
| 1994 | Johannes Jacobus Fourie Durand |
| 1993 | John Christopher Hall |
| 1988 | Denis Eugene Hurley |
| 2003 | Kathryn Frieda Jagoe |
| 1996 | Philip Alford Potter |
| 1993 | Bonginkosi Meshack Radebe |
| 2001 | Mamphela Aletta Ramphele |
| 1985 | Leonard Read |
| 2005 | Albertina Nontsikelelo Sisulu |
| 1980 | William James Belt Slater |
| 1981 | Oscar David da Fonseca Wollheim |
| 1989 | Max Coleman |
| 1961 | Reginald Frank Kennedy |
| 1935 | George Benjamin Kipps |
| 2002 | Vincent Kolbe |
| 1945 | Evelyn Mary Pike |
| 1940 | Edgar Orphan Vaughan |
Master of Arts in Architecture
| 1936 | Franklin Kaye Kendall |
Master of Business Administration
| 1996 | William Marshall Smith |
Master of City Planning and Urban Design
| 1996 | David Stanley Jack |
| 1990 | Peter Anderson |
| 1944 | William Henry Hemer |
| 1958 | John Scott Ivan McGregor |
| 1951 | Walter George Amos Mears |
| 1995 | Ntobsie Daphne Moletsane |
| 1994 | Makonza Ngambu |
| 2005 | Johann Clemens Porer |
| 1992 | Hyme Rabinowitz |
| 1993 | Cecil Skotnes |
| 1990 | Artemisio Paganini |
| 1953 | Wilfred John Copenhagen |
| 1974 | Charles Gordon Campbell Dickson |
| 1989 | Elsie Elizabeth Esterhuysen |
| 1955 | Alfred John Elven Gibbs |
| 1973 | George Alfred Harding |
| 1960 | Arthur Cecil Harrison |
| 2003 | Hamilton Naki |
| 2002 | Abdurrazack Achmat |
| 2002 | Dorothy Cleminshaw |
| 1992 | Max du Preez |
| 1996 | Margaret Elsworth |
| 1990 | Ivy Gcina |
| 1993 | Friday Mandla Mavuso |
| 2005 | Lucas Radebe |
| 1994 | Ruth Noel Robb |
| 1990 | Dorothy Zihlangu |