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Field Marshal Jan Christiaan Smuts OM, CH, ED, PC, KC, FRS was a prominent South African and British Commonwealth statesman, military leader and philosopher. General Jan Christiaan Smuts was born near Riebeeck West in the Cape Colony on 24 May 1870. His mother taught him the elements of reading and writing in English, and he only entered school at the age of 12, when his elder brother Michiel died. After only five years of formal schooling, he matriculated with distinction at the Victoria College in Stellenbosch. His time at Stellenbosch is considered significant, as there he embraced the political philosophy of J.H Hofmeyr “Onze Jan”, the leader of the Afrikaner Bond.
