Hendrik Bernardus Thom (13 December 1905 – 4 November 1983) was a British professor and former Rector of the Stellenbosch University.

Life and career

Thom was born in Jamestown,

Cape Colony The Cape Colony ( nl, Kaapkolonie), 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, which existed from 1795 to 1802, and again from 1806 to 1910, when i ...

, and grew up in Burgersdorp,

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...

. Because he was the 5th grandchild of his grandfather and namesake with the first names Hendrik Bernardus, his parents decided to call him by the nickname Quintus ("Five") to distinguish him from his cousins; he was known as Quintie Thom throughout his life. He matriculated at Burgersdorp High School and studied at

Stellenbosch University Stellenbosch University ( af, Universiteit Stellenbosch) is a public research university situated in Stellenbosch, a town in the Western Cape province of South Africa. Stellenbosch is the oldest university in South Africa and the oldest extant ...

(BA History and Dutch, ''cum laude'', 1926 and MA History, ''cum laude'', 1928). He continued his studies in history in Germany at the Friedrich Wilhelms Universität in Berlin (1928–1929), at the

Sorbonne Sorbonne may refer to: * Sorbonne (building), historic building in Paris, which housed the University of Paris and is now shared among multiple universities. *the University of Paris (c. 1150 – 1970) *one of its components or linked institution, ...

in Paris (1930) and in Amsterdam, researching his doctoral thesis, which he completed on his return to Stellenbosch. The title of his doctoral thesis (PhD, 1930) was: ''Die geskiedenis van die skaapboerdery in Suid-Afrika'' (The history of sheep farming in South Africa). During the next year he was appointed as lecturer of history at the Stellenbosch University, and promoted to senior lecturer in 1935. In 1937 he was appointed as professor of history at the same institution. From 1954 H.B. Thom was Rector of the Stellenbosch University until his retirement in 1969. In 1983 he was voted Chancellor, but he died at the end of the same year having served as Chancellor of the university for only nine months. The HB Thom theatre at the university was named in his honour. In 2018, this theatre was renamed to the Adam Small Theatre Complex in the spirit of recognition, redress and reconciliation. H.B. Thom enjoyed tennis, fishing and photography and married Maria du Toit in 1934; the marriage was childless. He played a major role in the cultural life of the Afrikaner people, and wrote a number of important historical books. He served on the ''Archives Commission'' (Argiefkommissie) and acted as chairman from 1950 to 1955. He was a member of the ''Historical Monuments Commission'' (Historiese Monumentekommissie, later Raad vir Nasionale Gedenkwaardighede), 1948–1954; ''Van Riebeeck-Vereniging''; ''Simon van der Stel Foundation''; ''Stellenbosch Museum'' and chairman of its Board of Trustees, 1962–1968. He received honorary memberships of the following organisations: * Nederlandse Koninklijke Akademie voor Wetenschappen 1952 * Maatschappij der Nederlandse Letterkunde te Leiden * Linschoten Vereniging * The Hakluyt Society *

Suid-Afrikaanse Akademie vir Wetenskap en Kuns The Suid-Afrikaanse Akademie vir Wetenskap en Kuns (SAAWK) (literally ''South African Academy for Science and Arts'') is a multidisciplinary organization dedicated to promoting science, technology and the arts in Afrikaans, as well as promoting ...

1981 * Suid-Afrikaanse Historiese Vereniging For 18 years he was chairman of the ''FAK'' (Federasie van Afrikaanse Kultuurvereniginge) and he was a sought after speaker. He served as Administrator of the ''Woordeboek van die Afrikaanse Taal'' (WAT).

Awards and honours

''SA Academy for Arts and Science'' Award for History 1952
Honorary medal extraordinaire for the promotion of Afrikaans literature and culture 1959
Honorary medal extraordinaire for services rendered on behalf of university education 1969
D.F. Malan Medal 1975
''Academy for Arts and Science'' Award ( vir volksdiens) 1980
''Doctor honoris causa'' of Stellenbosch and Orange Free State universities

Books written

*''Die Boodskap van 'n Honderd Jaar'' (Feesrede), 1947 *''Die Lewe van Gerrit Maritz'', 1947 (Second edition 1965) *''Die Geloftekerk en ander Studies oor die Groot Trek'', 1949 *''

Jannie Marais Johannes Henoch Marais (8 September 1851 – 30 May 1915) was a South African mining magnate, politician and philanthropist who co-founded the multibillion-dollar media conglomerate Naspers and the University of Stellenbosch. He was affectionatel ...

'', 1950 *''Daghregister van Jan Antonisz van Riebeeck'', 1952 (translated by HB and Maria Thom) *''Die Nuwe Beeld van ons Weermag'', (editor), 1963 *''Die Uitdaging van die Toekoms'', (editor), 1965 *''Stellenbosch, 1866–1966 (co-author)'', 1966 *

D.F. Malan Daniël François Malan (; 22 May 1874 – 7 February 1959) was a South African politician who served as the fourth prime minister of South Africa from 1948 to 1954. The National Party implemented the system of apartheid, which enforc ...

, 1980 (incomplete) Contributed to: ''Geskiedenis van Suid-Afrika'' (editors: Van der Walt, Wiid en Geyer), ''Suid-Afrikaanse Bibliografiese Woordeboek'' and ''Argief-jaarboek''.
Member of the editorial staff of Nederlandse tydskrif ''Bijdragen voor de Geschiedenis der Nederlanden''.

References

''Professor HB Thom'' (Editors: DJ Kotze, Bun Booyens, JJ Oosthuysen and GPJ Trumpelmann), Stellenbosch University, 1969.

External links

Stellenbosch Writers
{{DEFAULTSORT:Thom, H. B. 1905 births 1983 deaths People from Walter Sisulu Local Municipality Cape Colony people Afrikaner people South African people of German descent 20th-century South African historians Historians of Africa Historians of South Africa Stellenbosch University alumni University of Paris alumni