Thomas P Stratten
Thomas Price Stratten was a South African engineer. He went to Oxford on a Rhodes Scholarship, followed by two years at American General Electric. He returned to South Africa in 1929 to the position of assistant electrical engineer at De Beers Consolidated Mines. He took senior positions at Iscor, the Union Corporation and Escom. After a time spent in the Directorate of War Supplies,[1] he went on to successfully expand SAPPI's operations[2] and was president of the South African Institute of Electrical Engineers during the 1940s.[3]
Thomas Price Stratten | |
|---|---|
| Born | 4 June 1904 |
| Nationality | South African |
| Education | University of Cape Town |
| Alma mater | Balliol College, Oxford |
| Spouse | Mary Adele Morris |
| Children | Peter, Thomas and Mary |
| Scientific career | |
| Institutions | Iscor Eskom SAPPI Union Corporation |
Education and career
Stratten was born in 1904 in Kimberley, Cape Colony. He completed a BSc (Engineering) at the University of Cape Town in 1923.[4] He then went to Oxford on a Rhodes Scholarship where he completed his MA (Engineering) at Balliol College.[2][4] He worked for two years at American General Electric and then returned to South Africa in 1929 to the position of assistant electrical engineer at De Beers Consolidated Mines.[4]
From 1931 to 1935 he was appointed chief electrical engineer at Iscor. In 1935 he moved to the Union Corporation (UC).[5] He was appointed to several senior positions during his time at UC, including Chairman of the Board of Kinross, Bracken, East Geduld, Grootvlei, Leslie and other gold mines. He was Managing Director from 1954[6] and Chairman of UC from 1962 to 1972, after which time he retired.[4][5]
During the Second World War, General Jan Smuts' government appointed Stratten Head of Technical Production of the Directorate of War Supplies.[1]
In 1962 he was seconded to South African Pulp and Paper Industries Ltd (SAPPI), where he was instrumental in the successful expansion of their operations.[4]
In 1963 he was seconded to the Electricity Supply Commission (Escom) (the predecessor of Eskom) where he stayed until 1969.[7]
From 1 September 1964, Stratten was appointed to the National Finance Corporation[8] (a subsidiary of the South African Reserve Bank from 1949 to 1984), to represent the mining industry.[9]
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Recognition, memberships, presentations
- Stratten was a member of the South African Institute of Electrical Engineers (SAIEE)[4]
- He was an associate of the Scientific and Technical Society of South Africa.
- Stratten was a member of the first council of the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) in 1945.[10]
- Stratten was a founding member of the Oppenheimer Memorial Trust.[2]
- In 1964 he presented the Hendrik van der Bijl lecture at the South African Academy of Engineering, as a representative of the Chamber of Mines.[11]
- In 1966 he was presented with an Honorary Doctor of Laws degree from the University of the Witwatersrand at special graduation ceremony celebrating the 80th anniversary of the City of Johannesburg and the 70th anniversary of the South African School of Mines (predecessor of the University of the Witwatersrand).[12]
- The TP Stratten Primary school in Evander, Mpumalanga is named after him.
Personal life
Stratten married Mary Adele Morris in 1930 and they had three children, Peter, Thomas and Mary. He was a member of the Rand Club, The Johannesburg Country Club and The Royal Johannesburg Golf club and had a home in Westcliff, Johannesburg.
References
- Clark, N.L. (January 1994). Manufacturing Apartheid: State Corporations in South Africa. New Haven and London: Yale University Press. p. 111. Retrieved 29 April 2019.
- "Thomas Stratten". The Oppenheimer Memorial Trust. 2019. Retrieved 29 April 2019.
- Everrett, A, ed. (22 February 1940). "Proceedings of the Three Hundred and Eighth General Meeting" (PDF). Transactions of the SAIEE. XXXI (2). Retrieved 29 April 2019.
- Who's Who in Commerce and Industry (14 ed.). Chicago: Marquis - Who's Who. 1965. p. 1273. Retrieved 29 April 2019.
- "The First 75 Years 1897 - 1972" (PDF). Historical Papers. University of the Witwatersrand. p. 27. Retrieved 29 April 2019.
- "The Cemetery at Winkelhaak mine". Heritage Portal. Retrieved 29 April 2019.
- "1969 Annual Report" (PDF). Eskom. Energy Supply Commission of South Africa. 6 May 1970. Retrieved 29 April 2019.
- "Subsidiaries - South African Reserve Bank". South African Reserve Bank. 2019. Retrieved 29 April 2019.
- South African Digest. 28 August 1964. p. 15. Retrieved 29 April 2019.
- Basson, Nicoline (1996). Passage to Progress | The CSIR's Journey Of Change 1945 - 1995 (PDF). Johannesburg: Jonathan Ball Publishers. p. 168. ISBN 1868420345. Retrieved 29 April 2019.
- "Previous Van der Bijl lectures". South African Academy of Engineering. Retrieved 29 April 2019.
- "SPECIAL GRADUATION CEREMONY" (PDF). Historical Papers. University of the Witwatersrand. 10 August 1966. Retrieved 29 April 2019.