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Institute of Commonwealth Studies

ABDURAHMAN, Abdullah (1872-1940)

IDENTITY STATEMENT

Reference code(s): GB 0101 ICS 2

Held at: Institute of Commonwealth Studies

Title: ABDURAHMAN, Abdullah (1872-1940)

Date(s): 1937 and nd

Level of description: Collection (Fonds)

Extent: 2 items

Name of creator(s): Abdurahman | Abdullah | [1872]-1940 | President of African People's Organisation

CONTEXT

Administrative/Biographical history:

Abdullah Abdurahman was born December 18, 1872? in Cape Town, South Africa. He married Helen Potter James and they had two children, of whom the younger, Zainunnissa Abdurahman, like her father, was a prominent figure in Cape Town municipal affairs. After the dissolution of his first marriage, Dr. Abdurahman in 1925 married Margaret May Stansfield. They had a son and two daughters. Dr. Abdurahman was educated at Marist Brothers School and the South African College School. In 1888 he went to Glasgow University, where he obtained the M.B., Ch.M. medical degree in 1893.
In 1895 he returned to South Africa and acquired an extensive practice in Cape Town, among both Coloured and White people. In 1904 he was elected to the Cape Town City Council, and was the first Coloured person to become a Councillor. Except for two years (1913-1915) he remained a member up to the time of his death. Dr. Abdurahman was also a member of the Cape Provincial Council from 1914 until his death, and was largely responsible in establishing a system of school medical instruction for the Cape Province. In 1905 Dr. Abdurahman founded and was president of the South African Native and Coloured People's Organization, later known as the African People's Organization.
In 1909 he was a member of a delegation led by W. P. Schreiner to London. He was also a member of the Indian National Congress and in 1925 went to India to discuss the Indian's position in South Africa with the National Congress and Viceroy.
In 1934 he was appointed a member of the coloured People's Fact-finding Commission and served on the Cape Coloured Commission of 1937. He died in Cape Town in 1940

CONTENT

Scope and content/abstract:

Photocopy of article: 'Beyond the borders of the Cape Colony', 1937 [? by Abdullah Abdurahman], with notes by Dr Hendrickse on the Abdurahman family.

ACCESS AND USE

Language/scripts of material: English

System of arrangement:

2 items

Conditions governing access:

Open although advanced notice should be given.

Conditions governing reproduction:

Usual conditions apply

Physical characteristics:

Finding aids:

List available in the ICS Library

Detailed catalogue

ARCHIVAL INFORMATION

Appraisal, destruction and scheduling information:

Accruals:

Archival history:

Immediate source of acquisition:

Deposited at ICS by Dr Wynberg.

ALLIED MATERIALS

Existence and location of originals:

Location of originals not known

Existence and location of copies:

Related material:

Publication note:

DESCRIPTION NOTES

Note:

Archivist's note: Compiled by Alan Kucia as part of the RSLP AIM25 Project.