Thomas Meikle

Thomas Meikle, born in Scotland, was a businessman and pioneer in Southern Rhodesia, the African country now known as Zimbabwe.
He travelled to Durban, Natal, in December 1869 with his parents, his brothers John and Stewart and his sister Jeannie. He worked initially as a transport rider, then as a gold prospector, finally settling as a trader in Mashonaland. In 1894 he set up stores in Bulawayo and Gwelo with his brother John, who pulled out of the venture two years later. He took over his brother Stewart's original idea to set up a chain of hotels, which culminated in the present day Meikles Hotel in Salisbury, today Harare.
He died at Hillside, Bulawayo on 8 February 1939 after a long illness, and was survived by his widow and four daughters.