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George Walker (South Africa)
George Walker (1853 - September 18, 1924) was one of the alleged discoverers of the main gold reef on the Witwatersrand. He was born in Wigan, Lancashire, and emigrated as a young man to South Africa, where he worked as a prospector for the rest of his life. In 1886, the year he discovered the reef, he began working for the Struben brothers. Walker never received any credit for the discovery and died in poverty in Krugersdorp Krugersdorp (Afrikaans for ''Kruger's Town'') is a mining city in the West Rand, Gauteng Province, South Africa founded in 1887 by Marthinus Pretorius and Abner Cohen. Following the discovery of gold on the Witwatersrand, a need arose for a ... on 18 September 1924. References {{reflist Sources * '' Ensiklopedie van Suidelike Afrika'', Eric Rosenthal, 1967. British emigrants Mining in South Africa 1853 births 1924 deaths ...
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Witwatersrand
The Witwatersrand (, ; ; locally the Rand or, less commonly, the Reef) is a , north-facing scarp in South Africa. It consists of a hard, erosion-resistant quartzite metamorphic rock, over which several north-flowing rivers form waterfalls, which account for the name Witwatersrand, meaning 'white water ridge' in Afrikaans.Truswell, J.F. (1977). ''The Geological Evolution of South Africa''. pp. 21, 27–28, 33–36. Cape Town: Purnell. This east-west-running scarp can be traced with only one short gap, from Bedfordview (about west of O.R. Tambo International Airport) in the east, through Johannesburg and Roodepoort, to Krugersdorp in the west (see the diagram at left below).Norman, N.; Whitfield, G. (2006) ''Geological Journeys''. pp. 38–49, 60–61. Cape Town: Struik Publishers. The scarp forms the northern edge of a plateau (or ridge) which rises about above the surrounding plains of the Highveld. A number of picturesque Johannesburg suburbs, including Observatory, ...
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Wigan
Wigan ( ) is a town in Greater Manchester, England. The town is midway between the two cities of Manchester, to the south-east, and Liverpool, to the south-west. It is the largest settlement in the Metropolitan Borough of Wigan and is its administrative centre. The town has a population of 107,732 and the wider borough of 330,714. Wigan is part of the Historic counties of England, historic county of Lancashire. Wigan was in the territory of the Brigantes, an ancient List of ancient Celtic peoples and tribes, Celtic tribe that ruled much of what is now Northern England. The Brigantes were subjugated in the Roman conquest of Britain and the Roman settlement of was established where Wigan lies. Wigan was incorporated as a Borough status in the United Kingdom, borough in 1246, following the issue of a charter by Henry III of England, King Henry III of England. At the end of the Middle Ages, it was one of four boroughs in Lancashire established by royal charter. The Industrial Re ...
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Lancashire
Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated ''Lancs'') is a ceremonial county in North West England. It is bordered by Cumbria to the north, North Yorkshire and West Yorkshire to the east, Greater Manchester and Merseyside to the south, and the Irish Sea to the west. The largest settlement is Preston, Lancashire, Preston, and the county town is the city of Lancaster, Lancashire, Lancaster. The county has an area of and a population of 1,490,300. Preston is located near the centre of the county, which is urbanised and includes the towns of Blackburn and Burnley; the seaside resort of Blackpool lies to the west, and Lancaster, Lancashire, Lancaster is in the north. For Local government in England, local government purposes the county comprises a non-metropolitan county, with twelve districts, and two Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority areas: Blackburn with Darwen and Borough of Blackpool, Blackpool. Lancashire County Council and the two unitary councils collaborate through the ...
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South Africa
South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic Ocean, South Atlantic and Indian Ocean; to the north by the neighbouring countries of Namibia, Botswana, and Zimbabwe; to the east and northeast by Mozambique and Eswatini; and it encloses Lesotho. Covering an area of , the country has Demographics of South Africa, a population of over 64 million people. Pretoria is the administrative capital, while Cape Town, as the seat of Parliament of South Africa, Parliament, is the legislative capital, and Bloemfontein is regarded as the judicial capital. The largest, most populous city is Johannesburg, followed by Cape Town and Durban. Cradle of Humankind, Archaeological findings suggest that various hominid species existed in South Africa about 2.5 million years ago, and modern humans inhabited the ...
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Harry Struben
Harry Struben, born Hendrik Wilhelm Struben and also known as Henry William Struben (9 October 1840, Lower Rhine, Germany – 18 October 1915, Rosebank, Cape Town), was a South African randlord. He was the brother of Frederick Struben; together they managed the first gold-mining operation on the Reef. They were the sons of Johan Marinus Struben (1806 Oosterwijk, Holland), a South African Republic official, and his wife Frances Sarah Beattie of Scottish origin. Harry was born during a yacht trip along the Lower Rhine. His family emigrated to Pietermaritzburg in Natal in 1850, and moved to Pretoria five years after. Harry started as a transport rider, carrying goods between Natal and the Transvaal. In 1862 he bought the farm 'The Willows' on the outskirts of Pretoria. He also took to prospecting and found deposits of gold, copper and iron. In January 1868 he was married Mary L. Cole and they raised a family of eight children. In 1872 he and a certain Piet Marais bought two farm ...
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Krugersdorp
Krugersdorp (Afrikaans for ''Kruger's Town'') is a mining city in the West Rand, Gauteng Province, South Africa founded in 1887 by Marthinus Pretorius and Abner Cohen. Following the discovery of gold on the Witwatersrand, a need arose for a major town in the west of the reef. The government bought part of the Paardekraal farm and named the new town after the Transvaal president, Paul Kruger. Krugersdorp no longer has a separate municipal government after it was integrated into Mogale City Local Municipality along with surrounding towns. It is now the seat of government for Mogale City. History Krugersdorp is the site of a December 1880 gathering at which more than 6,000 men vowed to fight for the Transvaal's independence. Founded in 1887 by Marthinus Pretorius after the discovery of gold on his farm, ''Paardekraal'', thereafter the mining industry played an important role in the development of the city. Two important events in the history of South Africa: the Transvaal ...
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Eric Rosenthal (historian)
Eric Rosenthal, (10 July 1905 – 1983) was a South African historian and writer. He was born in Newlands, Cape Town, Cape Colony. He studied as an attorney, later becoming a journalist and writer of many corporate histories. He was a member of the ''Three Wise Men'' on Springbok Radio's long-running quiz show, ''Test the Team''. The elder of two children born to Richard Rosenthal and Hedwig De Beer, he received his first education at Parktown Preparatory School in Johannesburg, and later St. John's College. He chose to follow a legal career and qualified as an attorney at the University of the Witwatersrand. Early opportunities as a journalist saw his virtual abandoning of law. He was competent at sketching and enlivened his books with explanatory drawings. Rosenthal was married to Jenny Bradley on 18 December 1934 in Westcliff, Johannesburg. They spent most of their married life in Fish Hoek near Cape Town. Rosenthal has been attributed with helping write the initial bat ...
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British Emigrants
British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. * British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture * British English, the English language as spoken and written in United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and, more broadly, throughout the British Isles * Celtic Britons, an ancient ethno-linguistic group * Brittonic languages, a branch of the Insular Celtic language family (formerly called British) ** Common Brittonic, an ancient language Other uses *People or things associated with: ** Great Britain, an island ** British Isles, an island group ** United Kingdom, a sovereign state ** British Empire, a historical global colonial empire ** Kingdom of Great Britain (1707–1800) ** United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland (1801–1922) * British Raj, colonial India under the British Empire * British Hong Kong, colonial ...
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Mining In South Africa
Mining in South Africa was once the main driving force behind the history and development of Africa's most advanced and richest economy. Large-scale and profitable mining started with the discovery of a diamond on the banks of the Orange River in 1867 by Erasmus Jacobs and the subsequent discovery of the Kimberley pipes a few years later. Gold rushes to Pilgrim's Rest and Barberton were precursors to the biggest discovery of all, the Main Reef/Main Reef Leader on Gerhardus Oosthuizen's farm Langlaagte, Portion C, in 1886, which kicked off the Witwatersrand Gold Rush and the subsequent rapid development of the gold field there. Diamond and gold production are now well down from their peaks, though South Africa is still fifth in worldwide gold production and remains a cornucopia of mineral riches. The country is also the world's largest producer of chrome, manganese, platinum, vanadium and vermiculite. South Africa is the world's second largest producer of ilmenite, pallad ...
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1853 Births
Events January–March * January 6 – ** Florida Governor Thomas Brown signs legislation that provides public support for the new East Florida Seminary, leading to the establishment of the University of Florida. **U.S. President-elect Franklin Pierce's only living child, Benjamin "Benny" Pierce, is killed in a train accident. * January 8 – Taiping Rebellion: Zeng Guofan is ordered to assist the governor of Hunan in organizing a militia force to search for local bandits. * January 12 – Taiping Rebellion: The Taiping army occupies Wuchang. * January 19 – Giuseppe Verdi's opera '' Il Trovatore'' premieres in performance at Teatro Apollo in Rome. * February 10 – Taiping Rebellion: Taiping forces assemble at Hanyang, Hankou, and Wuchang, for the march on Nanjing. * February 12 – The city of Puerto Montt is founded in the Reloncaví Sound, Chile. * February 22 – Washington University in St. Louis is founded as Eliot Seminary. * March 5 – Saint Paul Fire ...
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