  the rt hon cecil john rhodes  (5 july 1853 â 26 march 1902) was a british businessman, mining magnate, and politician in south africa. an ardent believer in british colonialism, rhodes was the founder of the southern african territory of rhodesia, which was named after him in 1895. south africa's rhodes university is also named after rhodes. he set up the provisions of the rhodes scholarship, which is funded by his estate. historian richard a. mcfarlane has called rhodes "as integral a participant in southern african and british imperial history as george washington or abraham lincoln are in their respective eras in united states history. most histories of south africa covering the last decades of the nineteenth century are contributions to the historiography of cecil rhodes." == childhood == === england ===  rhodes was born in 1853 in bishop's stortford, hertfordshire, england. he was the fifth son of the reverend francis william rhodes and his wife louis
1853_births 1902_deaths Alumni_of_Oriel_College,_Oxford British_Empire British_colonisation_in_Africa Businesspeople_in_mining De_Beers English_agnostics Kimberley,_Northern_Cape Members_of_the_Privy_Council_of_Ireland Members_of_the_Privy_Council_of_the_United_Kingdom People_from_Bishop\'s_Stortford People_from_Kimberley,_Northern_Cape People_of_the_First_Matabele_War People_of_the_Second_Boer_War People_of_the_Second_Matabele_War Prime_Ministers_of_the_Cape_Colony Randlords Rhodes_House Rhodesian_politicians South_African_agnostics