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From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Dr Silas Modiri Molema (c. 1891 – 13 August 1965) was a South African doctor, politician, activist, and historian.
Dr Silas Modiri Molema | |
---|---|
Born | Silas Modiri Molema c. 1891 Mafeking, South Africa |
Died | 13 August 1965 73–74) Mafeking | (aged
Silas Modiri Molema was born around 1891 in Mafeking, South Africa.[1] His father was an important Barolong tribal chief, Silas Thelensho Molema. Molema began his education in South Africa, before moving to Europe in 1914.[2] He graduated with a degree in medicine from the University of Glasgow in 1919, going on to practice medicine at the Hume Street Hospital in Dublin, Ireland.[1] While in Glasgow, he published his most important work dedicated to the origin and history of the Bantu.[2][3] Molema returned to South Africa in 1921 he worked as a doctor in his home town of Mafikeng.[2]
In the 1940s he joined the African National Congress, and in December 1949 he was elected national secretary of the party. He later served as treasurer.[4]
In 1952, during the preparations for the festival celebrating the tricentenary of the landing of Jan van Riebeeck, he delivered a famous speech in front of the audience of the South African Indian Council[5] inviting those present to oppose the celebration by the white minority of the colonial past.[6]
He was part of the Legislative Council, the transitional political body established by the British colonial authority during the process that led to the independence of South Africa. He had a prominent role in the administrative bodies of the Protectorate of Bechuanaland, taking part in the independence process resulting in the foundation of the Republic of Botswana.[4]
Molema married Anna Moshoela around 1927. He later re-married, to Lucretia. He died on 13 August 1965.[2]
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