Background
Edward Solomon was born in 1845, studied to be an attorney, and based himself in Johannesburg.
Edward Solomon was born in 1845, studied to be an attorney, and based himself in Johannesburg.
He was involved in politics from early on, strongly identifying with the cause of the "Uitlanders" (English resident in the Boer republics). His involvement in this disastrous event led to his brief imprisonment in Pretoria. He was also elected to the Senate in the new united Republic of South Africa after Union.
He even became a prominent member of the Reform Committee which sponsored the Jameson Raid in 1895. He became the first Chairman of the Responsible Government Association and eventually a member of Louis Botha’s Transvaal cabinet from 1907-1910. Edward was a member of a large and influential Cape family, of Street Helenan Jewish descent.