Thomas Price Stratten (born June 4, 1904) was a South African engineer. He went to

Oxford Oxford () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and non-metropolitan district in Oxfordshire, England, of which it is the county town. The city is home to the University of Oxford, the List of oldest universities in continuou ...

on a

Rhodes Scholarship The Rhodes Scholarship is an international postgraduate award for students to study at the University of Oxford in Oxford, United Kingdom. The scholarship is open to people from all backgrounds around the world. Established in 1902, it is ...

, followed by two years at American General Electric. He returned to South Africa in 1929 to the position of assistant electrical engineer at

De Beers Consolidated Mines The De Beers Group is a South African–British corporation that specializes in the diamond industry, including mining, exploitation, retail, inscription, grading, trading and industrial diamond manufacturing. The company is active in open-pi ...

. He took senior positions at Iscor, the

Union Corporation Union Corporation Limited was a South African mining house. It was founded as the A Goerz & Co Ltd in the late 1890's as a gold mining company. After World War One, it was renamed the Union Corporation. In 1980 it was merged into the General Mining ...

and

Escom The Higher School of Computing (in Spanish: ''Escuela Superior de Cómputo'' or ''ESCOM'') is the college specialized in Computer Sciences of the National Polytechnic Institute located in Mexico City, Mexico. Its students pursue the bachelor's d ...

. After a time spent in the Directorate of War Supplies, he went on to successfully expand SAPPI's operations and was president of the

South African Institute of Electrical Engineers The South African Institute of Electrical Engineers (SAIEE) is a professional association representing electrical and electronic engineers, technologists and technicians in Southern Africa. The organisation is listed as a recognised Voluntary Ass ...

during the 1940s. Oxford - Balliol College - geograph

Education and career

Stratten was born in 1904 in

Kimberley Kimberly or Kimberley may refer to: Places and historical events Australia Queensland * Kimberley, Queensland, a coastal locality in the Shire of Douglas South Australia * County of Kimberley, a cadastral unit in South Australia Ta ...

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 completed a BSc (Engineering) at the

University of Cape Town The University of Cape Town (UCT) (, ) is a public university, public research university in Cape Town, South Africa. Established in 1829 as the South African College, it was granted full university status in 1918, making it the oldest univer ...

in 1923. He then went to

on a

where he completed his MA (Engineering) at

Balliol College Balliol College () is a constituent college of the University of Oxford. Founded in 1263 by nobleman John I de Balliol, it has a claim to be the oldest college in Oxford and the English-speaking world. With a governing body of a master and ar ...

. He worked for two years at American General Electric and then returned to South Africa in 1929 to the position of assistant electrical engineer at

From 1931 to 1935 he was appointed chief electrical engineer at Iscor. In 1935 he moved to the

(UC). He was appointed to several senior positions during his time at UC, including Chairman of the Board of

Kinross Kinross (, ) is a burgh in Perth and Kinross, Scotland, around south of Perth, Scotland, Perth and around northwest of Edinburgh. It is the traditional county town of the Counties of Scotland, historic county of Kinross-shire. History Kinro ...

, Bracken, East Geduld, Grootvlei, Leslie and other gold mines. He was Managing Director from 1954 and Chairman of UC from 1962 to 1972, after which time he retired. During the Second World War, General

Jan Smuts Field Marshal Jan Christian Smuts, (baptismal name Jan Christiaan Smuts, 24 May 1870 11 September 1950) was a South African statesman, military leader and philosopher. In addition to holding various military and cabinet posts, he served as P ...

' government appointed Stratten Head of Technical Production of the Directorate of War Supplies. In 1962 he was seconded to South African Pulp and Paper Industries Ltd (SAPPI), where he was instrumental in the successful expansion of their operations. In 1963 he was seconded to the Electricity Supply Commission (Escom) (the predecessor of Eskom) where he stayed until 1969. From 1 September 1964, Stratten was appointed to the National Finance Corporation (a subsidiary of the

South African Reserve Bank The South African Reserve Bank (SARB) is the central bank of South Africa. It was established in 1921 after Parliament passed an act, the "Currency and Bank Act of 10 August 1920", as a direct result of the abnormal monetary and financial condi ...

from 1949 to 1984), to represent the mining industry.

Recognition, memberships, presentations

*Stratten was a member of the South African Institute of Electrical Engineers (SAIEE) *He was an associate of the Scientific and Technical Society of South Africa. *Stratten was a member of the first council of the

Council for Scientific and Industrial Research A council is a group of people who come together to consult, deliberate, or make decisions. A council may function as a legislature, especially at a town, city or county/shire level, but most legislative bodies at the state/provincial or nati ...

(CSIR) in 1945. *Stratten was a founding member of the Oppenheimer Memorial Trust. *In 1964 he presented the

Hendrik van der Bijl Hendrik Johannes van der Bijl FRS (23 November 1887 – 2 December 1948) was a South African electrical engineer and industrialist and is regarded as one of the greatest South Africans for his contribution to the country's development. He was t ...

lecture at the

South African Academy of Engineering The South African Academy of Engineering (S.A.A.E.) is a non-profit, independent institution with some 151 fellows (June 2009) drawn mainly from the engineering sector of the Republic of South Africa. The aims of the academy are to promote excell ...

, as a representative of the Chamber of Mines. *In 1966 he was presented with an Honorary Doctor of Laws degree from 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 ...

at special graduation ceremony celebrating the 80th anniversary of the

City of Johannesburg The City of Johannesburg Metropolitan Municipality () is a metropolitan municipality that manages the local governance of Johannesburg, the largest city in South Africa. It is divided into several branches and departments in order to expedite se ...

and the 70th anniversary of the South African School of Mines (predecessor of the University of the Witwatersrand). *The TP Stratten Primary school in

Evander, Mpumalanga Evander is a town in Mpumalanga, South Africa. It is approximately 8 km north west of Secunda. History The town was founded in 1955 when the Union Corporation started its mining activities and was originally part of the Bethal district ...

is named after him.

Personal life

Stratten married Mary Adele Morris in 1930 and they had three children, Peter, Thomas and Mary. He was a member of the Rand Club, The Johannesburg Country Club and The Royal Johannesburg Golf club and had a home in

Westcliff Westcliff-on-Sea (previously known as Milton, often abbreviated to Westcliff, and in the past spelt as Westcliffe-on-Sea) is a suburb of the city of Southend-on-Sea, located within the ceremonial county of Essex, England. It is on the north sh ...

, Johannesburg. View Of Joburg Gen From The West Cliff Hotel In Forst Town

References

External links

SAIEE websiteSouth African Academy of Engineering
{{DEFAULTSORT:Stratten, T. P. 1904 births South African mining engineers Year of death missing 20th-century South African engineers South African scientists

Education and career

Recognition, memberships, presentations

Personal life

See also

References

External links