New Dictionary of South African Biography
When the first volume of the Dictionary of South African biography (DSAB) was published in 1968, the then editor-in-chief Prof. W.J. de Kock gave the reason for the publication – a need for a work of reference presenting the life histories of people who have made a meaningful contribution to the course of South African history. At that time the objective of the editorial board was to publish a series of biographies of persons who died before the end of 1950, and to deal in a following series with persons who died later. Mainly for logistical reasons it was impossible to keep to the original planning. The third of the five volumes of the DSAB already included people who died after 1950, and by the time the last volume was published, people who died before the end of 1982 were being considered for inclusion. By moving the inclusion date forward from time to time, the series could be continued indefinitely – with the inherent danger of postponing important but demanding pre-1950 biographies in favour of more recent and less taxing ones.
The decision to terminate the DSAB after the publication of Volume V in 1987 (at that stage 4 518 biographies had been published) and to embark on the New dictionary of South African biography (NDSAB) was taken for two reasons – firstly, to adapt to changes in the external environment that seriously reduced the resources available for the continuation of the programme (in fact, threatened its very survival). Secondly, there was a need to reconsider the programme and correct some imbalances. The NDSAB is, however, complementary to the former series. To assist the reader, a cumulative index to Volumes I to V of the DSAB is included in the NDSAB 1.
The most visible change is in the format. Compared to the average of 900 biographies per volume of the DSAB, the first volume of the NDSAB carries only 129. The layout is also less formidable, and every biography has been illustrated except for those for which no photograph or illustration could be traced, or those for which the illustration material did exist but for which the owners set exorbitant demands. This latter constraint, incidentally, makes a mockery of the much-desired principle of free access to information.
Readers who are familiar with the DSAB will also immediately notice the tendency to move away from leaders of the male-dominated white establishment towards extra-parliamentary political leaders who paved the way for broad democratic reform, leaders in all spheres of the marginalized communities, and women who significantly influenced an essentially male-dominated world. A special niche was reserved for people who received international acclaim, or who were pioneers in some way or another. For reasons of historical balance a number of people in leadership positions from the pre-democratic era have also been included. Most of the biographies are approximately of equal length and a deliberate attempt was made to steer away from biographical detail, focusing rather on those aspects of a person’s life that constituted a significant contribution to history. The editor strove to maintain stylistic consistency. To avoid incorrect use, prefixes such as ‘ama-’ or ‘ba-’ were avoided. In some cases the orthography of the previous series was adhered to: the spelling of names such as ‘Sefunêlo’ was retained. A special effort was made to remain consistent when repeatedly capturing the same events relative to different political figures. The danger of a boring style had to be braved for the sake of accuracy.
Avid readers of the DSAB have waited patiently for this volume. On their behalf and that of the management of the Human Sciences Research Council, I would like to express our sincere appreciation to Elizabeth Verwey who, as editor, so ably guided this first volume of the New dictionary of South African biography through all its phases.
On behalf of the editor I would like to thank the following persons for the role they played in producing this volume:
· Mart van der Westhuizen, Marie-Louise van Wyk and Annelize Meintjies of the HSRC Computer Centre;
· Buks Groenewald and Isabel Groesbeek of the HSRC Library;
· Thys Liebenberg, Heinie Heydenrych, Lucie Möller and Tony Minnaar for professional support and advice, and those mentioned in the source list who gave information telephonically (often after much effort on their part to get the information);
· Ina Stahmer and Margaret Whittle-Bennetts for assistance with the linguistic revision of the manuscript;
· Jantje Bode for being a pillar of support throughout;
· Relatives and friends of the persons included in the book as well as contributors to the NDSAB who lent photographs from their own collections;
· Claudia Davidson of the HSRC Publishers for the sensitive guidance in the final stages of this publication.
Arie Oberholster
Executive Director
Group: Social Dynamics
HSRC