Sir Thomas Cullinan
Encyclopedia
Sir Thomas Cullinan was a South Africa
n diamond
magnate. He is renowned for giving his name to the Cullinan Diamond
, the largest diamond ever discovered, and as owner of the Premier Mine
, now renamed the Cullinan Mine, from which the famous gem was extracted on 26 January 1905. He also gave his name to the nearby South Africa
n town of Cullinan
.
Thomas Cullinan was born in Elands Post near Seymore, Cape Colony. He moved to Barberton in 1884 and got married two years later. In 1887, he moved to Johannesburg
. There he became a bricklayer, and after he earned some money, he turned to prospecting. In 1897 he moved to Parktown, the up and coming suburb of the Randlords and had 'The View', his home built. He discovered the Premier diamond fields in 1898. They lay a considerable distance from the existing diamond fields, but from the find of a diamond on the surface near a farm fence, he deduced that the diamond (found in alluvial soil) must have been washed from some higher diamond-bearing geological position. Such a position presented itself in the shape of a nearby koppie, which concealed a diamond-bearing blue ground
pipe.
The owner of the mine, Joachim Prinsloo, had sold land to both gold and diamond prospectors before, and would not sell. However Cullinan succeeded in purchasing the land for £52,000 from Prinsloo's daughter, who inherited the farm after her father's death.
Cullinan was one of the co-founders and chairman of what became the Transvaal Chamber of Industries. He was a member of the Transvaal Legislative Assembly and the first Union Parliament of 1910, representing the Pretoria Western district.
He was knighted in 1910, at the inauguration of the Union of South Africa in recognition of his contribution to industrial development in South Africa. The investiture was carried out by the Duke of Connaught
, representing King George V
.
He had a family of ten children, and was the grandfather of Patrick Cullinan
, a prominent South African poet.
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 diamond
Diamond
In mineralogy, diamond is an allotrope of carbon, where the carbon atoms are arranged in a variation of the face-centered cubic crystal structure called a diamond lattice. Diamond is less stable than graphite, but the conversion rate from diamond to graphite is negligible at ambient conditions...
magnate. He is renowned for giving his name to the Cullinan Diamond
Cullinan Diamond
The Cullinan diamond is the largest rough gem-quality diamond ever found, at .The largest polished gem from the stone is named Cullinan I or the Great Star of Africa, and at was the largest polished diamond in the world until the 1985 discovery of the Golden Jubilee Diamond, , also from the...
, the largest diamond ever discovered, and as owner of the Premier Mine
Premier Mine
The Premier Mine is an underground diamond mine owned by Petra Diamonds. It is situated in the town of Cullinan, 40 kilometres east of Pretoria, Gauteng Province, South Africa. Established in 1902, it was renamed the Cullinan Diamond Mine in November 2003 in celebration of its centenary...
, now renamed the Cullinan Mine, from which the famous gem was extracted on 26 January 1905. He also gave his name to the nearby 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 town of Cullinan
Cullinan, Gauteng
Cullinan is a small town 30 km east of Pretoria, Gauteng, South Africa. Sir Thomas Cullinan discovered a rich diamond pipe here in 1902 and soon afterwards, on 25 June 1905, the famed Cullinan Diamond, the largest in the world at , was discovered by Frederick Wells, surface manager of the Premier...
.
Thomas Cullinan was born in Elands Post near Seymore, Cape Colony. He moved to Barberton in 1884 and got married two years later. In 1887, he moved to Johannesburg
Johannesburg
Johannesburg also known as Jozi, Jo'burg or Egoli, is the largest city in South Africa, by population. Johannesburg is the provincial capital of Gauteng, the wealthiest province in South Africa, having the largest economy of any metropolitan region in Sub-Saharan Africa...
. There he became a bricklayer, and after he earned some money, he turned to prospecting. In 1897 he moved to Parktown, the up and coming suburb of the Randlords and had 'The View', his home built. He discovered the Premier diamond fields in 1898. They lay a considerable distance from the existing diamond fields, but from the find of a diamond on the surface near a farm fence, he deduced that the diamond (found in alluvial soil) must have been washed from some higher diamond-bearing geological position. Such a position presented itself in the shape of a nearby koppie, which concealed a diamond-bearing blue ground
Blue ground
In reconnaissance for diamond mining, blue ground refers to a layer of nonoxidized kimberlite. Kimberlites are a class of igneous rocks commonly associated with diamond mining. Before the advent of modern geophysical probes, the ideal way to find a kimberlite pipe was to search for "yellow ground",...
pipe.
The owner of the mine, Joachim Prinsloo, had sold land to both gold and diamond prospectors before, and would not sell. However Cullinan succeeded in purchasing the land for £52,000 from Prinsloo's daughter, who inherited the farm after her father's death.
Cullinan was one of the co-founders and chairman of what became the Transvaal Chamber of Industries. He was a member of the Transvaal Legislative Assembly and the first Union Parliament of 1910, representing the Pretoria Western district.
He was knighted in 1910, at the inauguration of the Union of South Africa in recognition of his contribution to industrial development in South Africa. The investiture was carried out by the Duke of Connaught
Prince Arthur, Duke of Connaught and Strathearn
Prince Arthur, Duke of Connaught and Strathearn was a member of the shared British and Saxe-Coburg and Gotha royal family who served as the Governor General of Canada, the 10th since Canadian Confederation.Born the seventh child and third son of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and...
, representing King George V
George V of the United Kingdom
George V was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Emperor of India, from 6 May 1910 through the First World War until his death in 1936....
.
He had a family of ten children, and was the grandfather of Patrick Cullinan
Patrick Cullinan
Patrick Roland Cullinan was a South African poet and biographer.He was born in Pretoria into a significant diamond-mining family and attended Charterhouse School and Oxford University in England...
, a prominent South African poet.