Cecil John Rhodes, South African statesman, is born

Cecil John Rhodes was born on 5 July 1853 in Bishop's Stortford, Hertfordshire, England. Rhodes was sickly as a teenager and suffered bouts of asthma. His family sent him to Natal, South Africa, to live with his older brother in the hope that the hot climate would improve his health. In South Africa, Rhodes became involved in the mining industry of Kimberley. He began buying a few small mines. Eventually Rhodes founded the De Beers mining company, which, at one stage marketed 90% of the world’s rough diamonds. He was instrumental in the colonization of Rhodesia, present day Zimbabwe, which was named after him. He was an ardent believer in colonialism, declaring that the Anglo-Saxon race was the first race and therefore should inhabit the entire world. His dream was to build a British empire that would rule all of Africa. Rhodes died on 26 March 1902.