Cecil Rhodes

In the south aisle of Henry VII's chapel in Westminster Abbey is a small stone tablet in memory of Cecil Rhodes. This was given by a committee of officials and business men from Southern Rhodesia and was unveiled by Leo Amery on 3rd December 1953. The inscription just reads:

In memory of Cecil Rhodes 1853-1902

Cecil John Rhodes was born on 5th July 1853, a son of Francis, vicar of Bishops Stortford in Hertfordshire, and his wife Louisa (Peacock). He joined his elder brother Herbert in the colony of Natal in South Africa and worked in the diamond fields at Kimberley. Returning to England he studied law at Oxford university. Back in South Africa, with the rise of De Beers Mining Company, he started to accumulate wealth and position. His British South Africa Company was granted a royal charter to exploit areas in south and central Africa and a railway was constructed between the Cape and the Transvaal. Later he became Prime Minister of Cape Colony. The Rhodes Trust was set up to provide scholarships to Oxford university. He died on 26th March 1902 at his home near Cape Town and was buried in Southern Rhodesia, now Zimbabwe.