President Paul Kruger (78), dies of heart failure in Clarens, Switzerland

Paul Kruger (Stephanus Johannes Paulus) was born on 10 October 1825 in the Steynsburg district. When the Great Trek started in 1836, he joined the trek party of Hendrik Potgieter, and later settled on a farm at the foot of the Magaliesberg in 1841. After the death of his first wife and child, he married Gezina du Plessis, with whom he had 7 daughters and 9 sons. Kruger started his political career as a Commandant General and soon thereafter became the Vice president of the Transvaal. When the Transvaal had been annexed by the British, Kruger took leadership of the resistance movement. Once the first war of independence against the British broke out in 1881, Kruger was instrumental in negotiating the Transvaal's independence under British sovereignty. In 1882, he became the President of the Transvaal, a position held until 1898, before the outbreak of the Anglo-Boer War. As British forces advanced on Pretoria, Kruger left the capital of the Transvaal and was given refuge in Europe. He settled in Clarens, Switzerland for the last six months of his life where he died of heart failure on 14 July 1904. His remains were returned to South Africa and he was buried in the Pretoria Church Street cemetery on 16 December 1904. References: "This week in African History" [online] Available at: africanhistory.about.com [Accessed 6 July 2009] Wallis, F. (2000) Nuusdagboek: feite en fratse oor 1000 jaar, Kaapstad: Human & Rousseau. "Who was Paul Kruger?: A snapshot of his life"[online] Available at: tokencoins.com  [Accessed 6 July 2009]