Thomas Chalmers Robertson | |
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Born | |
Died | January 11, 1989 | (aged 81)
Nationality | South African |
Occupation | Writer |
Dr. Thomas Chalmers Robertson (15 September 1907 – 11 January 1989) was a writer, ecologist and conservationist from South Africa. [1] He was also a war correspondent, and Jan Smuts’s anti- Nazi propagandist during World War II. [2] He was driven by three things: his mission to save the soil (and grasses of Southern Africa), his insatiable quest for knowledge (being regarded by some as a genius), and his equally insatiable hedonism. [3]
The T.C.Robertson Nature Reserve situated on the outskirts of the town of Scottburgh, KwaZulu-Natal is named after him, [1] [3] and he played a role in the development of Ilanda Wilds (a nature reserve in Amanzimtoti to the north of Scottburgh). [4]
According to Dictionary.com, Robertson coined the term " white nationalism" in his 1948 essay titled Racism Comes to Power in South Africa: The Threat of White Nationalism. [5] However, Merriam-Webster has noted usage of the two-word phrase as early as 1925. [6]