Person

Marthinus Wessel Pretorius

1819–1901 · 19th century · Also known as M. W. Pretorius

Marthinus Wessel Pretorius was a Boer leader, the son of Andries Pretorius. He was the first president of the South African Republic, from 1857 to 1871, uniting the separate Transvaal communities under the constitution of 1858 and making Pretoria the capital. He was also president of the Orange Free State from 1860 to 1863.

Marthinus Wessel Pretorius
Image: Not recorded · Public domain · Wikimedia Commons

Mentioned in 1 profile

South African RepublicFoundation, Summary

Mentioned in 2 state histories

South African RepublicRepublic of Lydenburg

See also

Cite this entry
APA
The Epoch Institute. (2026). Marthinus Wessel Pretorius. In The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia. https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/marthinus-wessel-pretorius
MLA
“Marthinus Wessel Pretorius.” The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia, The Epoch Institute, 2026, https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/marthinus-wessel-pretorius. Accessed .
Chicago
The Epoch Institute. “Marthinus Wessel Pretorius.” The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia. 2026. https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/marthinus-wessel-pretorius.
Harvard
The Epoch Institute (2026) ‘Marthinus Wessel Pretorius’, The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia. Available at: https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/marthinus-wessel-pretorius (Accessed: ).

Last reviewed October 2026Random entry ↻