Eric Rosenthal, (10 July 1905 – 1983) was a South African

historian A historian is a person who studies and writes about the past and is regarded as an authority on it. Historians are concerned with the continuous, methodical narrative and research of past events as relating to the human species; as well as the ...

and writer. He was born in

Newlands, Cape Town Newlands (Nuweland) is an upmarket suburb of Cape Town, South Africa. It is located at the foot of Table Mountain in the Southern Suburbs of Cape Town, and is the wettest suburb in South Africa due to its high winter rainfall. The neighborhood ...

Cape Colony The Cape Colony (), also known as the Cape of Good Hope, was a British Empire, British colony in present-day South Africa named after the Cape of Good Hope. It existed from 1795 to 1802, and again from 1806 to 1910, when it united with three ...

. 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 Johannesburg ( , , ; Zulu language, Zulu and Xhosa language, Xhosa: eGoli ) (colloquially known as Jozi, Joburg, Jo'burg or "The City of Gold") is the most populous city in South Africa. With 5,538,596 people in the City of Johannesburg alon ...

, and later St. John's College. He chose to follow a legal career and qualified as an attorney at the

University of the Witwatersrand The University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg (), commonly known as Wits University or Wits, is a multi-campus Public university, public research university situated in the northern areas of central Johannesburg, South Africa. The universit ...

. 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 Fish Hoek (, meaning either Fish Corner or Fish Glen) is a coastal suburb of Cape Town at the eastern end of the Fish Hoek Valley on the False Bay side of the Cape Peninsula in the Western Cape, South Africa. Previously a separate municipality, Fi ...

near

Cape Town Cape Town is the legislature, legislative capital city, capital of South Africa. It is the country's oldest city and the seat of the Parliament of South Africa. Cape Town is the country's List of municipalities in South Africa, second-largest ...

. Rosenthal has been attributed with helping write the initial batch of Chappies "Did You Know?" facts.

Bibliography

*''Memories & Sketches'' *''From Drury Lane to Mecca'' *''Old Time Survivals in South Africa'' *''Stars and Stripes in Africa'' *''The Fall of Italian East Africa'' *''Fortress on Sand'' *'' General Dan Pienaar'' *''Japan's Bid for Africa'' *'' General de Wet'' *''Gold Bricks and Mortar'' *''African Switzerland'' *''The South African Saturday Book'' *''Homes of the Golden City'' *'' They Walk in the Night'' *''Pinelands'' *''South African Jews in World War II'' *''Shovel and Sieve'' *''Here are Diamonds'' *''The Hinges Creaked'' *'' Shelter from the Spray'' *''Shells to Shillings'' *''Other Men's Millions'' *''Cutlass and Yardarm'' *''Today's News Today'' *''The Changing Years'' *''River of Diamonds'' *''Overdrafts and Overwork'' *''Apology Refused'' *'' Heinrich Egersdörfer:an Old-Time Sketch Book'' *''Tankards and Tradition'' * *''Schooners and Skyscrapers'' *''South African Surnames'' * *''History of Fish Hoek 1818-1968'' *''Gold! Gold! Gold!'' *''Meet Me at the Carlton'' *''You Have Been Listening'' *''The Rand Rush'' *''Victorian South Africa'' * *''The Best of Eric Rosenthal'' *''Fish Horns and Hansom Cabs'' *''Rustenburg Romance'' *''160 Years of Cape Town Printing'' *''On Change Through the Years'' *''50 Years of the Cape Town Orchestra'' *''50 Years of Healing'' *''300 Years of the Castle at Cape Town'' *''The Story of The Cape Jewish Orphanage'' published in 1961

Family

Eric Rosenthal's grandfather was Albert Rosenthal, who settled in Middelburg in the

Eastern Cape The Eastern Cape ( ; ) is one of the nine provinces of South Africa. Its capital is Bhisho, and its largest city is Gqeberha (Port Elizabeth). Due to its climate and nineteenth-century towns, it is a common location for tourists. It is also kno ...

in about 1854, where he was on the board of directors of the Standard Bank of South Africa. He married the composer Pauline Emmanuel from Germany, who was a fellow music student with Engelbert Humperdinck. They produced three sons – two elder sons born in Germany, Julius (1868–1902) and Richard born 1869, and lastly Berthold born 1885 in Middelburg.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Rosenthal, Eric 1905 births 1983 deaths 20th-century South African historians Alumni of St John's College (Johannesburg) Historians of South Africa University of the Witwatersrand alumni Writers from Cape Town