Professor Edgar Harry Brookes (4 February 1897–22 April 1979) was a South African
Liberal senator and
South African representative to the
League of Nations.
Biography
Brookes was born in
Smethwick
Smethwick () is an industrial town in Sandwell, West Midlands, England. It lies west of Birmingham city centre. Historically it was in Staffordshire.
In 2019, the ward of Smethwick had an estimated population of 15,246, while the wider bu ...
, England in 1897. He attended
Maritzburg College in
Natal, South Africa where he matriculated in 1911. He attended the
University of South Africa and the
London School of Economics.
Some of his early works are noted for stressing the advantages of separate development of the races in South Africa, but it is noted that his views changed during his life. Brookes was involved with the
South African Institute of Race Relationsin the 1920s.
He became a senator in 1937 and retired as the senator for
Zululand in 1953. Between 1933 and 1945 he was the principal of
Adams College. He worked closely with
John Dube to achieve common objectives. The school became one of the most important schools for black education. He was a professor of History and Political Science at the
University of Natal.
Who's Who of Southern Africa
accessed 8 August 2008
When the Liberal Party was formed in 1953 he did not at first join it, but changed his mind when Peter Brown and other Liberals were detained in the 1960 State of Emergency
A state of emergency is a situation in which a government is empowered to be able to put through policies that it would normally not be permitted to do, for the safety and protection of its citizens. A government can declare such a state du ...
, which was imposed after the Sharpeville massacre.
After he retired from teaching at the University of Natal he was ordained as an Anglican priest.
Works
* ''History of Native Policy in South Africa'' (1924)
* ''The Colour Problems of South Africa'' (1933)
* ''The Native Reserves of Natal'' (with N. Hurwitz) (1957)
* ''The City of God'' (1960)
* ''A History of the University of Natal'' (1967)
* ''A South African Pilgrimage'' (1977)
References
Citations
Sources
*
*
*
*
*
*
External links
Biography at SA History OnlineCorrespondence and papers
at the Killie Campbell
Dr Margaret Roach 'Killie' Campbell (1881- 1965) was a South African collector of Africana. Her collection was bequeathed to the University of Natal and is now the Killie Campbell Africana Library. Campbell was the second daughter of Natal polit ...
Africana Museum in Durban.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Brookes, Edgar Harry
1897 births
1979 deaths
Alumni of Maritzburg College
20th-century South African Anglican priests
Liberal Party of South Africa politicians
Members of the Senate of South Africa
University of South Africa alumni
Alumni of the London School of Economics
University of Natal faculty
British emigrants to the Colony of Natal