Laurens van der post biography

South African writer (–)

Sir Laurens Jan van der Post, CBE (13 December – 15 December )^[1][2] was a South African Afrikaner writer, farmer, soldier, educator, journalist, humanitarian, philosopher, explorer and conservationist. He was noted for his interest in Jungianism and the Kalahari Bushmen, his experiences during World War II, as well as his relationships with notable figures such as King Charles III and British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher.

After his death, there was controversy over claims that he had exaggerated many aspects of his life, as well as his sexual abuse and impregnation of a year-old girl.^[3]

Biography

Early years and education

Van der Post was born in the small town of Philippolis in the Orange River Colony, the post-Boer War British name for what had previously been the Afrikaner Orange Free State in what is today South Africa.^[4] His father, Christiaan Willem Hendrik van der Post (– Laurens van der Post Biography - Pantheon SUPY