Fransjohan Pretorius

Fransjohan Pretorius
Born	(1949-01-25) January 25, 1949 Johannesburg, South Africa
Occupations	Historian, emeritus professor
Years active	1989 - 2014 (- 2022)
Spouse	Laurette Pretorius
Awards	Stals Prize (1998) Jan H Marais Prize (2019)
Academic background
Alma mater	University of Pretoria, Leiden University, University of South Africa
Thesis	(1988)
Academic work
Institutions	University of Pretoria
Main interests	Second Anglo-Boer War (1899-1902)
Notable works	The Hall handbook of the Anglo-Boer War, 1899-1902 (1999, with Darrell Hall and Gilbert Torlage), A history of South Africa : from the distant past to the present day (2014), and Scorched earth (2017)

Fransjohan Pretorius (born January 25, 1949, in Johannesburg, South Africa) is a South African historian and professor emeritus of History at the University of Pretoria. His main field is the history of the Second Anglo-Boer War (1899–1902), to which he contributed many scholarly books and articles, both as an author and editor. His 1999 book, Life on Commando during the Anglo-Boer War 1899-1902, was runner-up for the Sunday Times Alan Paton Award. The Afrikaans edition won three major awards. He received the Stals Prize from the Suid-Afrikaanse Akademie vir Wetenskap en Kuns (South African Academy for Arts and Science) in 1998, and is a former editor of 'Historia', the journal of the South African Historical Association.

Education and career

Pretorius matriculated at the Afrikaanse Hoër Seunskool (Affies). He studied history at the University of Pretoria (UP) and so is a Tukkie (derived from Transvaalse Universiteitskollege, the original name of the University of Pretoria). He continued his studies at Leiden University and obtained a PhD in history at the University of South Africa (UNISA) in 1989. He was lecturer in the Department of Historical and Heritage Studies from 1989 until his retirement in 2014 at the University of Pretoria.

Pretorius studied history at the University of Pretoria (UP) and so is a Tukkie (derived from Transvaalse Universiteitskollege, the original name of the University of Pretoria). He continued his studies at Leiden University and obtained a PhD in history at the University of South Africa (UNISA) in 1989. He was lecturer in the Department of Historical and Heritage Studies from 1989 until his retirement in 2014 at the University of Pretoria.

Awards

In 1998 Pretorius received the Stals Prize for Cultural History from the Suid-Afrikaanse Akademie vir Wetenskap en Kuns (SAAWK, South African Academy of Science and Art) and in 2001 the Prestige Prize from the Federasie van Afrikaanse Kultuurvereniginge (FAK, Federation of Afrikaans Cultural Associations). In 2019, he was awarded the annual Jan H. Marais Prize for Outstanding Contribution to Afrikaans as an academic language.

Personal life

Pretorius is married to Laurette Pretorius, a computer science professor emeritus at the University of South Africa.

Publications

Pretorius' publications include:

In English

• 1999 – 479 pages.
• 1999 –
• 2001 –
• 2001 –
• 2009 –
• 2014 – 712 pages.
• 2023 –

In Afrikaans

• 1991 –
• 1999 –
• 2001 –
• 2007 –
• 2012 –
• 2020 –