Pre·to·ri·us  (prĭ-tôr'ē-əs, -tōr'-)  Afrikaner soldier and politician who led the defeat of the Zulus (1838) and negotiated the independence of the Transvaal (1852). His son Marthinus Wessels Pretorius (1819-1901) founded Pretoria (1855) and was president of the Transvaal (1857-1877) as well as the Orange Free State (1859-1863). |