John Gordon Sprigg

Sir John Gordon Sprigg GCMG PC (1830–1913) was a British administrator, politician and four-time prime minister of the Cape Colony. Sprigg was born in Ipswich, England, into a strongly Puritan family. His father was a pastor and his strictly conservative up-bringing had a life-long effect on Sprigg's values (until the end of his life, one of Sprigg's proudest claims was that his ancestor had been one of Oliver Cromwell's chaplains). He was educated at Ipswich School, as well as a series of other private schools. He started his career in a shipbuilder’s office, and then switched jobs to become a reporter. However, his fragile health caused him to emigrate to the Cape Colony in 1858 to recuperate, and here he decided to settle. He bought...