George McCall Theal
, 1837 - 1919
George McCall Theal was born in the United States of America. He moved to Sierra Leone before and then to South Africa, where he became a teacher, journalist, miner and genealogist, archivist and historian. He had a keen interest in South Africa’s origin, people and cosmological realities. Throughout his life in South Africa, he published articles and books on the Bantu and Xhosa stories, folklore and mythology. Among his numerous publications are Compendium of South African History and Geography (1873), History of South Africa (1873), Kaffir (Xhosa) Folk-Lore (1882), and a catalogue of books and pamphlets relating to Africa South of the Zambesi (1912), and South Africa–Story of the Nations Series (1917).
Source:
Saunders, Christopher, "George McCall Theal and Lovedale", History in Africa 8 (1981): 155–164.
Bio prepared by Eleanor A. Dasi, University of Yaoundé 1, wandasi5@yahoo.com
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