Sol Plaatje
Source: Wikipedia: Sol Plaatje
Humanitarian & Peace • Historical Archive • 🇿🇦 South Africa • 1 views

Sol Plaatje 🇿🇦

Solomon Tshekisho Plaatje
["Author", "First ANC General Secretary", "Linguist"]
Born Oct 09, 1876 🇿🇦 Boshof, South Africa
Passed Away Jun 19, 1932 Johannesburg, South Africa
Lifespan 55 years old
1 views
Notice / Correction
"Awakening on Friday morning, June 20, 1913, the South African native found himself, not actually a slave, but a pariah in the land of his birth."

Archival Overview

Brilliant intellectual, journalist, and first General Secretary of the South African Native National Congress (later ANC), whose book 'Native Life in South Africa' exposed land dispossession.

Biographical Record

Sol Plaatje was born into a Barolong family in the Orange Free State and became a brilliant court interpreter fluent in eight languages. His diary during the Siege of Mafeking (1899-1900) provided the only contemporary written African account of the Anglo-Boer War.

In 1912, Plaatje was elected the first General Secretary of the SANNC (the forerunner of the ANC). When the racist Natives' Land Act of 1913 stripped Africans of land ownership, Plaatje traveled the country on bicycle documenting the devastation, publishing the landmark expose 'Native Life in South Africa' in 1916.

Key Life Milestones

SANNC Founding

First ANC General Secretary

Elected the first general secretary of the South African Native National Congress in Bloemfontein.

Native Life Expose

Publication of Native Life

Published 'Native Life in South Africa', exposing the horrific consequences of the 1913 Land Act.

Memorial Guestbook & Tributes

0 messages recorded

Leave a Respectful Tribute

No tributes recorded yet. Be the first to leave a message in honor of Sol Plaatje.

Final Resting Place

Perpetual Memorial
West End Cemetery
Kimberley, South Africa
GPS: -28.7333, 24.7667
View on Memory Atlas
Archival Standards PastLegacies adheres to strict neutral biographical guidelines and legal standards of remembrance. Next-of-kin may request modifications or removal at any time via our expedited process.