                
Sir John Charles Molteno snr, born in London to an Anglo-Italian family, emigrated to the Cape in 1831. He briefly worked as a library assistant before demonstrating entrepreneurial skills by founding Molteno and Co. at age 23. The company traded wine and wool with the West Indies and Mauritius and attempted the first overseas shipment of dried fruit in 1841. However, a storm wrecked the ship, nearly bankrupting him. He then shifted his focus, selling the business and investing in land in the Karoo and Saxon Merino sheep.
Molteno returned to Cape Town to marry his first wife, the mixed-race daughter of a former colleague. They settled in Beaufort West, but she tragically died in childbirth. Grieving, Molteno joined a Boer Commando to fight in the 1846 Amatola War.
In the 1860s, Molteno moved to Claremont, Cape Town, and entered politics. He opposed British rule, criticizing its incompetence and injustice. His efforts led to the establishment of responsible government in the Cape Colony. In 1872, he became the first Prime Minister, reorganizing state finances, abolishing the House Tax, and investing in infrastructure, including railways, telegraphs, and agricultural irrigation. He also established grants for town and village libraries.
When British imperialists, led by Lord Carnarvon, tried to force Southern Africa into a confederation, Molteno resisted. The British dissolved the Cape government and installed Henry Bartle Frere as governor, which led to conflicts and eventually the First Boer War. Frere was later recalled and charged with misconduct.
Sir John Charles Molteno snr, nicknamed the “Lion of Beaufort” and derogatorily called the “Beaufort Boer” by British opponents, declined to form a new government in his later years and retired. He was married three times, widowed twice, and had 19 children and 38 grandchildren. In 1882, he was knighted by Queen Victoria after previously declining the honour three times.
