Emil Kumst

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Full name:  Friederich Ludwig Emil Kumst

Lifespan: 1860 Germany - 1931 Johannesburg

Occupation: Businessman, prospector

Spouse: Emilie Fiebiger (1866 Austria - 1946 Johannesburg) - married in East London

Kumst prospected in the Krugersdorp area during the 1910s-1920s. He was managing director of Kumst Diamond Company.

"...Mr. Emil Kumst, who came in at frequent intervals with imports of new strikes round Krugersdorp. Kumst was a German and varied his prospecting with hunts for treasure. He saw possibilities in medicine and started producing a series of curative oils which he sold all over the country and which brought him prosperity. His end was dramatic. He was shot by a woman friend of his and the resulting case was sensational even by the standards of the Rand." (Rosenthal)

"An unusual prosecution has taken place in the Johannesburg Magistrate's Court. when Emil Kumst and Henry Lowe, described as proprietor and manager respectively of the Southern Cross Oil Company, were charged with contravening the Public Health Act, by advertising for sale certain oils as capable of curing venereal diseases. The advertisements were in two native languages. Kumst was found guilty and fined £5. Lowe was discharged." (1927)

Sources
  • Shovel and Sieve. Rosenthal, E. c.1959. George Allen and Unwin: London.
  • The Journal of the Medical Association of South Africa. Dec 24, 1927.

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