Dreyer Tree » President Martinus Wessel Pretorius (1819-1901)

Personal data President Martinus Wessel Pretorius 


Household of President Martinus Wessel Pretorius

(1) He is married to Elizabeth Johanna Susanna Germishuyzen.

They got married


(2) He is married to Maria Catharina Botha.

They got married.


(3) He is married to Aletta Magdalena Smit.

They got married.


Notes about President Martinus Wessel Pretorius

The son of the famous Voortrekker leader Andries Pretorius, Marthinus Wessel Pretorius (17 September 1819 – 19 May 1901) was the first president of the South African Republic, and also compiled the constitution of the Republic.

After the death of his father in 1853, he was appointed as the Commandant-General of the ZAR (South African Republic) and moved from his farm Kalkheuwel, nearBroederstroom, to the city of Potchefstroom. He was the last Head of State of Potchefstroom between 1853 and 1856.

Contents [show] Founding of the city of Pretoria[edit source

editbeta]Statue of Marthinus Wessel Pretorius in Pretoria

In an endeavour to establish a new town, he bought two farms named Elandspoort en Daspoort between 1854 and 1855, on which he founded the city of Pretoria in 1855.

He originally named the town Pretoria Philadelphia, in honour of his father and his father's brothers, but the name of the town was later shortened to just Pretoria.

Five years later the capital of theZAR (Zuid Afrikaanse Republiek or South African Republic in English) was moved from Potchefstroom to Pretoria

Multiple Roles as Head of State[edit source

editbeta]

He served as the first president of the South African Republic from 1857 to 1860. However in 1859, in an effort to create closer bonds of relationship with the Orange Free State, he simultaneously held the office of State President of the Orange Free State and that of president of the South African Republic.

This however created tension in Transvaal and he resigned the presidency of the South African Republic in 1860.

After serving in the presidency of the Orange Free State until 1863, he was reelected as president of the South African Republic in 1864 and served a second term until 1871.

Finally, he served a third term as joint head of state (triumvirate) of the South African Republic between 1880 and 1883. He diedin 1901 atPotchefstroom.

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Timeline President Martinus Wessel Pretorius

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Ancestors (and descendant) of Martinus Wessel Pretorius


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    Historical events

    Birthday September 17, 1819

    • The temperature on September 17, 1819 was about 15.0 °C. Wind direction mainly north. Weather type: half bewolkt . Source: KNMI
    •  This page is only available in Dutch.
      De Republiek der Verenigde Nederlanden werd in 1794-1795 door de Fransen veroverd onder leiding van bevelhebber Charles Pichegru (geholpen door de Nederlander Herman Willem Daendels); de verovering werd vergemakkelijkt door het dichtvriezen van de Waterlinie; Willem V moest op 18 januari 1795 uitwijken naar Engeland (en van daaruit in 1801 naar Duitsland); de patriotten namen de macht over van de aristocratische regenten en proclameerden de Bataafsche Republiek; op 16 mei 1795 werd het Haags Verdrag gesloten, waarmee ons land een vazalstaat werd van Frankrijk; in 3.1796 kwam er een Nationale Vergadering; in 1798 pleegde Daendels een staatsgreep, die de unitarissen aan de macht bracht; er kwam een nieuwe grondwet, die een Vertegenwoordigend Lichaam (met een Eerste en Tweede Kamer) instelde en als regering een Directoire; in 1799 sloeg Daendels bij Castricum een Brits-Russische invasie af; in 1801 kwam er een nieuwe grondwet; bij de Vrede van Amiens (1802) kreeg ons land van Engeland zijn koloniën terug (behalve Ceylon); na de grondwetswijziging van 1805 kwam er een raadpensionaris als eenhoofdig gezag, namelijk Rutger Jan Schimmelpenninck (van 31 oktober 1761 tot 25 maart 1825).
    • In the year 1819: Source: Wikipedia
      • February 19 » British explorer William Smith discovers the South Shetland Islands and claims them in the name of King George III.
      • May 22 » SSSavannah leaves port at Savannah, Georgia, United States, on a voyage to become the first steamship to cross the Atlantic Ocean.
      • May 25 » The Argentine Constitution of 1819 is promulgated.
      • July 1 » Johann Georg Tralles discovers the Great Comet of 1819, (C/1819 N1). It was the first comet analyzed using polarimetry, by François Arago.
      • December 14 » Alabama becomes the 22nd U.S. state.
      • December 17 » Simón Bolívar declares the independence of Gran Colombia in Angostura (now Ciudad Bolívar in Venezuela).

    Day of death May 18, 1901

    • The temperature on May 18, 1901 was between 2.4 °C and 13.9 °C and averaged 8.2 °C. There was 6.4 hours of sunshine (40%). Source: KNMI
    • Koningin Wilhelmina (Huis van Oranje-Nassau) was from 1890 till 1948 sovereign of the Netherlands (also known as Koninkrijk der Nederlanden)
    • In The Netherlands , there was from July 27, 1897 to August 1, 1901 the cabinet Pierson, with Mr. N.G. Pierson (unie-liberaal) as prime minister.
    • In The Netherlands , there was from August 1, 1901 to August 16, 1905 the cabinet Kuijper, with Dr. A. Kuijper (AR) as prime minister.
    • In the year 1901: Source: Wikipedia
      • The Netherlands had about 5.2 million citizens.
      • March 2 » The U.S. Congress passes the Platt Amendment limiting the autonomy of Cuba, as a condition of the withdrawal of American troops.
      • August 6 » Kiowa land in Oklahoma is opened for white settlement, effectively dissolving the contiguous reservation.
      • October 12 » President Theodore Roosevelt officially renames the "Executive Mansion" to the White House.
      • October 29 » In Amherst, Massachusetts, nurse Jane Toppan is arrested for murdering the Davis family of Boston with an overdose of morphine.
      • November 13 » The 1901 Caister lifeboat disaster.
      • December 12 » Guglielmo Marconi receives the first transatlantic radio signal (the letter "S" [***] in Morse Code), at Signal Hill in St John's, Newfoundland.
    

    Same birth/death day

    Source: Wikipedia

    Source: Wikipedia


    About the surname Pretorius


    The Dreyer Tree publication was prepared by .contact the author
    When copying data from this family tree, please include a reference to the origin:
    Hendrik Dreyer, "Dreyer Tree", database, Genealogy Online (https://www.genealogieonline.nl/dreyer-tree/I1574.php : accessed January 10, 2026), "President Martinus Wessel Pretorius (1819-1901)".