People of the Karoo refers to notable individuals who come (or came) from, or whose lives have included substantial engagement with, the area known as the Karoo. The Karoo is a widespread physiographic province in the western interior of

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

, straddling much of the Northern Cape, southern Free State, Eastern Cape interior and parts of the

Western Cape The Western Cape is a province of South Africa, situated on the south-western coast of the country. It is the fourth largest of the nine provinces with an area of , and the third most populous, with an estimated 7 million inhabitants in 2020 ...

Provinces. As a distinctive, generally arid region, it has given rise to a characteristic architecture, cuisine, literature and other cultural elements, with predominantly sheep farming practices, and lifestyles that included a persistence of hunting and gathering by ,

xam Xam may refer to: * XAM, a storage standard * Xẩm, a type of Vietnamese folk music * ǀXam language ǀXam pronounced , in English ) is considered an extinct language of South Africa formerly spoken by the ǀXam-ka ǃʼē of South Africa. I ...

and other San (Bushman) groups into the later nineteenth century. Karoo, as place, is often acknowledged as an influential aspect in the lives or backgrounds of those people who come from or live in the region - exemplified by Guy Butler's autobiographical ''Karoo Morning''. __NOTOC__

,

*, A!kunta - , xam narrator in the creation of the Bleek and Lloyd archive *, Han≠kasso - , xam narrator in the creation of the Bleek and Lloyd archive *,

Kabbo ǁkabbo pronounced (d. 25 January 1876) (also known as ǀuhi-ddoro or Jantje) was a noted , xam ( San) chronicler of ǀxam culture and knowledge. He played an important role in contributing to the Bleek and Lloyd archive of “ Specimens of B ...

- , xam narrator in the creation of the Bleek and Lloyd archive

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* !Kweiten ta ken - , xam narrator in the creation of the Bleek and Lloyd archive

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* Louis Anthing

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Christiaan Barnard Christiaan Neethling Barnard (8 November 1922 – 2 September 2001) was a South African cardiac surgeon who performed the world's first human-to-human heart transplant operation. On 3 December 1967, Barnard transplanted the heart of accident-v ...

- pioneering heart surgeon (Beaufort West, Richmond) * Wilhelm Heinrich Immanuel Bleek - philologist * Guy Butler - poet

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Fort Calata Fort Calata (5 November 1956 – 27 June 1985) was a South African anti-apartheid activist and one of The Cradock Four murdered by the South African police in 1985. Early life Fort Calata was born on 5 November 1956. He is the grandson of Jame ...

- one of the Cradock Four (Cradock) *

Sir Malcolm Campbell Major Sir Malcolm Campbell (11 March 1885 – 31 December 1948) was a British racing motorist and motoring journalist. He gained the world speed record on land and on water at various times, using vehicles called ''Blue Bird'', including a ...

- land and water speed record holder who made record attempt at

Verneukpan Verneukpan is a widespread dry salt pan south of Kenhardt, between Swartkop and Diemansput in the Northern Cape, South Africa. ''Verneuk'' is Afrikaans for to trick, mislead, screw or swindle. The pan is used for aerotowing operations. During ...

* J.M. Coetzee - writer (Voelfontein near Merweville)

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Coenraad de Buys Coenraad De Buys (1761 – 1821) was described as "a remarkable figure" on the frontier of the Cape Colony. Travellers described him with awe. Their accounts mentioned that he was an impressive figure, nearly seven foot tall and with enormous ...

- frontiersman * Diä!kwain - , xam narrator in the creation of the Bleek and Lloyd archive

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* Abraham Esau - Coloured British patriot,

Second Boer War The Second Boer War ( af, Tweede Vryheidsoorlog, , 11 October 189931 May 1902), also known as the Boer War, the Anglo–Boer War, or the South African War, was a conflict fought between the British Empire and the two Boer Republics (the South ...

(Calvinia) *

Cromwell Everson Cromwell Everson (28 September 1925 – 11 June 1991) was primarily known as a composer during his lifetime. He was brought up as an Afrikaner by his mother, Maria De Wit and father, Robert Everson. He continued this tradition and all his childr ...

- composer (Beaufort West)

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* Athol Fugard - playwright, novelist, actor, and director (Middelburg)

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Matthew Goniwe Matthew Goniwe (27 December 1947 – 27 June 1985) was a South African anti-apartheid activist and one of The Cradock Four murdered by the South African police in 1985. Early years Goniwe was the youngest of eight children. His parents, David a ...

- one of the Cradock Four (Cradock) *

Robert Jacob Gordon Robert Jacob Gordon (29 September 1743, in Doesburg, Gelderland – 25 October 1795, in Cape Town) was a Dutch explorer, soldier, artist, naturalist and linguist of Scottish descent. Life Robert Jacob Gordon was the son of Maj. General Jacob ...

- explorer (Orange River & Colesberg, 1778-9)

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* Albert Hoffa

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* Maximillian Jackson - magistrate (Kenhardt)

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* Cyril Karabus - former Professor of Paediatrics,

UCT The University of Cape Town (UCT) ( af, Universiteit van Kaapstad, xh, Yunibesithi ya yaseKapa) is a public research university in Cape Town, South Africa. Established in 1829 as the South African College, it was granted full university stat ...

Oncology Oncology is a branch of medicine that deals with the study, treatment, diagnosis and prevention of cancer. A medical professional who practices oncology is an ''oncologist''. The name's etymological origin is the Greek word ὄγκος (''� ...

, Red Cross Hospital (Beaufort West) *

James Kitching James William Kitching (6 February 1922 – 24 December 2003) was a South African vertebrate palaeontologist and regarded as one of the world’s greatest fossil finders. Career His work in the southern hemisphere, including Antarctica, led ...

- palaeontologist (Graaff Reinet)

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* John X. Merriman - 11th and last Prime Minister of the Cape Colony and Member of Parliament for

Victoria West Victoria West is a town in the central Karoo region of South Africa's Northern Cape province. It is situated on the main N12 route, at an elevation of . It is the seat of the Ubuntu Local Municipality within the Pixley ka Seme District Municipa ...

. Merriman, a railway siding near Victoria West is named after him. *

Sicelo Mhlauli Sicelo Mhlauli (25 May 1949 – 27 June 1985) was a South African anti-apartheid activist, and one of The Cradock Four murdered by the South African police in 1985. Early life Sicelo Mhlauli was born on 25 May 1949 at Emagqomeni Location in Crado ...

- one of the Cradock Four (Cradock) *

Sparrow Mkhonto Sparrow Mkonto (24 December 1951 – 27 June 1985) was a South African anti-apartheid activist, and one of The Cradock Four murdered by the South African police in 1985. Early life and education Sparrow Mkonto was born on 24 December 1951 in Bhon ...

- one of the Cradock Four (Cradock) *

Elizabeth Maria Molteno Elizabeth Maria Molteno (24 September 1852 – 25 August 1927), was an early South African British activist for civil and women's rights in South Africa. Early life Elizabeth was born into an influential Cape family of Italian origin. She was ...

- civil and women's rights activist (Beaufort West) * Sir John Molteno - first Prime Minister of the Cape Colony (Beaufort West)

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* Gert Vlok Nel - poet (Beaufort West)

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* Eric Rosenthal - historian and author with family connection with

Middelburg Middelburg may refer to: Places and jurisdictions Europe * Middelburg, Zeeland, the capital city of the province of Zeeland, southwestern Netherlands ** Roman Catholic Diocese of Middelburg, a former Catholic diocese with its see in the Zeeland ...

* Sydney Rubidge - palaeontologist (Graaff-Reinet) *

Anton Rupert Anthony Edward Rupert (4 October 1916 – 18 January 2006) was a South African businessman, philanthropist, and conservationist. He was born and raised in the small town of Graaff-Reinet in the Eastern Cape. He studied in Pretoria and ultimate ...

- businessman and conservationist (Graaff-Reinet) *

Rona Rupert Rona Rupert née Davel (7 February 1934 – 25 August 1995) was a South African author. In 1976, she received the C.P. Hoogenhout Award. Biography Born in Calvinia, South Africa. Her father was a lecturer of Afrikaans and Dutch, before the fami ...

, née Davel - author (Calvinia)

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Olive Schreiner Olive Schreiner (24 March 1855 – 11 December 1920) was a South African author, anti-war campaigner and intellectual. She is best remembered today for her novel ''The Story of an African Farm'' (1883), which has been highly acclaimed. It deal ...

* J.L.B. Smith - ichthyologist who identified a taxidermied fish as a

coelacanth The coelacanths ( ) are fish belonging to the order Actinistia that includes two extant species in the genus ''Latimeria'': the West Indian Ocean coelacanth (''Latimeria chalumnae''), primarily found near the Comoro Islands off the east coast ...

(Graaff-Reinet) *

Robert Sobukwe Robert Mangaliso Sobukwe (5 December 1924 – 27 February 1978) was a prominent South African anti-apartheid revolutionary and founding member of the Pan Africanist Congress (PAC), serving as the first president of the organization. Sobukwe w ...

- first president of the PAC (Graaff-Reinet and Kimberley] * Andries Stockenstroom

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Joachim van Plettenberg Baron Joachim Ammena van Plettenberg (8 March 1739, Leeuwarden, Netherlands – 18 August 1793, Zwolle, Netherlands) was the governor of the Cape of Good Hope from 11 August 1771 to 14 February 1785. Plettenberg was presiding governor after ...

- visited Colesberg area in 1778 *

N.P. van Wyk Louw Nicolaas Petrus van Wyk Louw (11 June 1906 in Sutherland, Cape Colony – 18 June 1970 in Johannesburg), almost universally known as N.P. van Wyk Louw, was an Afrikaans-language poet, playwright and scholar. He was the older brother of Afrikaans ...

- poet * Zwelinzima Vavi - General Secretary of Congress of South African Trade Unions (Hanover) * A.G. Visser - poet

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YuGii Yo is an afrikaans rap artist, poet and activist born in the 20th century in a small town 80 kilometres outside of Beaufort West.

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References

{{reflist, 30em Karoo Lists of South African people