Edmund Beale Sargant was a colonial administrator in the British Empire

British Empire

The British Empire comprised the dominions, colonies, protectorates, mandates and other territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom. It originated with the overseas colonies and trading posts established by England in the late 16th and early 17th centuries. At its height, it was the...

, particularly notable for his policy of introducing English

English language

English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...

 in the South Africa

South Africa

The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...

n educational system in the first years of the twentieth century, as Director of Education for the Transvaal and Orange River Colony

Orange River Colony

The Orange River Colony was the British colony created after this nation first occupied and then annexed the independent Orange Free State in the Second Boer War...

 under Alfred Milner, and in the aftermath of the war

Second Boer War

The Second Boer War was fought from 11 October 1899 until 31 May 1902 between the British Empire and the Afrikaans-speaking Dutch settlers of two independent Boer republics, the South African Republic and the Orange Free State...

. The Sargant Report (1905) was important for the future of education in the Transvaal.

He was also a poet

Poet

A poet is a person who writes poetry. A poet's work can be literal, meaning that his work is derived from a specific event, or metaphorical, meaning that his work can take on many meanings and forms. Poets have existed since antiquity, in nearly all languages, and have produced works that vary...

, appearing in particular in the first of the Georgian Poetry

Georgian Poetry

Georgian Poetry was the title of a series of anthologies showcasing the work of a school of English poetry that established itself during the early years of the reign of King George V of the United Kingdom....

anthologies.

Works

• A Guide Book to Books (1891), compendium of book titles, with Bernhard Whishaw
• Report on Native Education in South Africa (1908) Parliamentary Paper
• The Casket Songs (1912) poems
• The Country’s Call (1914) with Marie Sargant
• More Songs by the Wayside (1934) poems