Paul Kruger

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Paul Kruger bigraphy, stories - President of the South African Republic

Paul Kruger : biography

10 October 1825 – 14 July 1904

Stephanus Johannes Paulus Kruger (10 October 1825 – 14 July 1904), better known as Paul Kruger, and affectionately known as Uncle Paul (Afrikaans: "Oom Paul"), was State President of the South African Republic (Transvaal). He gained international renown as the face of Boer resistance against the British during the South African or Second Boer War (1899–1902).

Notes

Youth

Kruger was born at Bulhoek, on his grandfather’s farm, which was approximately 15 km west of the town of Steynsburg and 100 km to the north of Cradock in the British Cape Colony, and he grew up on the farm Vaalbank. Among his ancestors were the Khoi woman named Krotoa, and a Danish settler, Pieter van Meerhoff (Peder Jacobsen).M. du Preez, Pale native: memories of a renegade reporter, p.12, p.30http://www.eurozine.com/articles/2006-03-02-distiller-en.htmlalternation.ukzn.ac.za He received only three months of formal education, his master being Tielman Roos,Kruger, Paul The Memoirs of Paul Kruger, Four Times President of the South African Republic, Told by Himself page 13 London Paternoster Square T Fisher Unwin 1902 but he became knowledgeable from life on the veld. Paul Kruger became proficient in hunting and horse riding. He contributed to the development of guerrilla warfare during the First Boer War.Martin Meredith, Diamonds, Gold, And War, (New York: Public Affairs, 2007), p. 74. Kruger’s father, Casper Kruger, joined the trek party of Hendrik Potgieter when the Great Trek started in 1835.

The trekkers crossed the Vaal River in 1838, and at first stayed in the area that is known today as Potchefstroom. Kruger’s father later decided to settle in the district now known as Rustenburg. At the age of 16, Kruger was entitled to choose a farm for himself at the foot of the Magaliesberg, where he settled in 1841.Kruger, Paul The Memoirs of Paul Kruger: Four Times President of the South Arican Republic: Told by Himself The Century Co New York 1902 page 12

The following year he married Anna Maria Etresia du Plessis (1826-1846),Kruger, Paul The Memoirs of Paul Kruger: Four Times President of the South African Republic Told by Himself The Century Co. New York 1902 page 12 and they went together with Paul Kruger’s father to live in the Eastern Transvaal. After the family had returned to Rustenburg, Kruger’s wife and infant died in January, 1846.Kruger, Paul The Memoirs of Paul Kruger Four Times President of the South African Republic Told by Himself pages 13-14 Century Co. New York 1902 He then married his second wife Gezina Susanna Fredrika Wilhelmina du Plessis (1831-1901) in 1847, with whom he remained until her death in 1901. The couple had seven daughters and nine sons, some dying in infancy.Maritin Meredith Diamonds, Gold and War. (New York:PublicAffairs),75.

Kruger was a deeply religious man; he claimed to have only read one book, the Bible. He also claimed to know most of it by heart. He was a founding member of the Reformed Church in South Africa .Martin,76

Legacy

A gold Krugerrand coin Statue of Paul Kruger on Church Square, [[Pretoria]] His former Pretoria residence is now the Kruger House Museum.

A statue of Paul Kruger in his characteristic formal dress stands in Church Square, Pretoria.

The Kruger National Park is named after him, as is the Krugerrand coin, which features his face on the obverse.

President Paul Kruger’s farm, Boekenhoutfontein, and the historic buildings, were declared a provincial heritage site in 1971. The South African hotel chain Kedar acquired the property, in partnership with the President Kruger Trust, and the land around the museum has been incorporated into Kedar’s game farm. The main Kruger House is a museum showcasing a wide range of Kruger memorabilia and other items of historical interest.

Pipe manufacturers still produce a style named "Oom Paul", the characteristic large-bowled full-bent shape often seen in photographs of Paul Kruger and believed to have been designed especially for him.