Professor Edgar Harry Brookes (4 February 1897–22 April 1979) was a South African

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senator and

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n representative to the

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Biography

Brookes was born in Smethwick, England in 1897. He attended

Maritzburg College Maritzburg College is a semi-private English-medium high school for boys situated in the city of Pietermaritzburg, in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. It was founded in 1863 and it's the oldest boys' high school in KwaZulu-Natal – and one of the ...

Natal NATAL or Natal may refer to: Places * Natal, Rio Grande do Norte, a city in Brazil * Natal, South Africa (disambiguation), a region in South Africa ** Natalia Republic, a former country (1839–1843) ** Colony of Natal, a former British colony ( ...

, South Africa where he matriculated in 1911. He attended the

University of South Africa The University of South Africa (UNISA), known colloquially as Unisa, is the largest university system in South Africa by enrollment. It attracts a third of all higher education students in South Africa. Through various colleges and affiliates, U ...

and the

London School of Economics The London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE) is a public university, public research university located in London, England and a constituent college of the federal University of London. Founded in 1895 by Fabian Society members Sidn ...

. Some of his early works are noted for stressing the advantages of separate development of the races in South Africa, but it is noted that his views changed during his life. Brookes was involved with the

South African Institute of Race Relations Established in 1929,http://www.sairr.org.za/profile/ the South African Institute of Race Relations (SAIRR) is a research and policy organisation in South Africa. The institute is "one of the oldest liberal institutions in the country". The in ...

in the 1920s. He became a senator in 1937 and retired as the senator for Zululand in 1953. Between 1933 and 1945 he was the principal of

Adams College Adams College is a historic Christian mission school in South Africa, associated with the United Congregational Church of Southern Africa (UCCSA). It was founded in 1853 at Amanzimtoti a settlement just over south of Durban by an American missio ...

. He worked closely with

John Dube John Langalibalele Dube (22 February 1871 – 11 February 1946) was a South African essayist, philosopher, educator, politician, publisher, editor, novelist and poet. He was the founding president of the South African Native National Congress ...

to achieve common objectives. The school became one of the most important schools for black education. He was a professor of History and Political Science at the

University of Natal The University of Natal was a university in the former South African province Natal which later became KwaZulu-Natal. The University of Natal no longer exists as a distinct legal entity, as it was incorporated into the University of KwaZulu-N ...

.Who's Who of Southern Africa
accessed 8 August 2008 When the

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was formed in 1953 he did not at first join it, but changed his mind when Peter Brown and other Liberals were detained in the 1960 State of Emergency, which was imposed after the

Sharpeville massacre The Sharpeville massacre occurred on 21 March 1960 at the police station in the township of Sharpeville in the then Transvaal Province of the then Union of South Africa (today part of Gauteng). After demonstrating against pass laws, a crowd o ...

. After he retired from teaching at the

he was ordained as an Anglican priest.

Works

* ''History of Native Policy in South Africa'' (1924) * ''The Colour Problems of South Africa'' (1933) * ''The Native Reserves of Natal'' (with N. Hurwitz) (1957) * ''The City of God'' (1960) * ''A History of the University of Natal'' (1967) * ''A South African Pilgrimage'' (1977)

References

Citations

Sources

* * * * * *

External links

Biography at SA History OnlineCorrespondence and papers
at the Killie Campbell Africana Museum in Durban. {{DEFAULTSORT:Brookes, Edgar Harry 1897 births 1979 deaths Alumni of Maritzburg College 20th-century South African Anglican priests Liberal Party of South Africa politicians Members of the Senate of South Africa University of South Africa alumni Alumni of the London School of Economics University of Natal faculty British emigrants to the Colony of Natal