Eric Rosenthal (historian)

Eric Rosenthal, (10 July 1905 – 1983) was a South African historian and writer. He was born in Newlands, Cape Town, Cape Colony. He studied as an attorney, later becoming a journalist and writer of many corporate histories. He was a member of the Three Wise Men on Springbok Radio's long-running quiz show, Test the Team.

The elder of two children born to Richard Rosenthal and Hedwig De Beer, he received his first education at Parktown Preparatory School in Johannesburg, and later St. John's College. He chose to follow a legal career and qualified as an attorney at the University of the Witwatersrand. Early opportunities as a journalist saw his virtual abandoning of law. He was competent at sketching and enlivened his books with explanatory drawings.

Rosenthal was married to Jenny Bradley on 18 December 1934 in Westcliff, Johannesburg. They spent most of their married life in Fish Hoek near Cape Town.

Rosenthal has been attributed with helping write the initial batch of Chappies "Did You Know?" facts.

Family
Eric Rosenthal's grandfather was Albert Rosenthal, who settled in Middelburg in the Eastern Cape in about 1854, where he was on the board of directors of the Standard Bank of South Africa. He married the composer Pauline Emmanuel from Germany, who was a fellow music student with Engelbert Humperdinck. They produced three sons – two elder sons born in Germany, Julius (1868–1902) and Richard born 1869, and lastly Berthold born 1885 in Middelburg.