Milner, Viscount (1854-1925), a British diplomat, was a colonial administrator in southern Africa. He served as governor of Cape Colony from 1897 to 1901. His negotiations with the government of Ferdinant Kruger failed to prevent the outbreak of the Anglo-Boer War of 1899-1902. For his services during the war, Milner was made a baron in 1901 and a viscount in 1902. Milner later administered the Transvaal (now the area of northeast South Africa divided into Limpopo, Mpumalanga, Gauteng, and part of North West province) and the Orange River Colony (now called Free State). In World War I (1914-1918), he served in the War Cabinet.
Alfred Milner was born in Bonn, Germany, on March 23, 1854. He was educated at King’s College of the University of London and at Oxford University. From 1892 to 1897, he served as chairman of the Board of Inland Revenue. He was knighted in 1895. He died on May 13, 1925.
