Famous South African Engineers

Mark Shuttleworth is a South African-British entrepreneur. He is credited with founding Canonical, the company that developed the popular Linux-based Ubuntu operating system. Mark Shuttleworth became the first African from an independent country and the first South African to travel to space; he traveled as a space tourist in 2002.

Phil Ramone was a South African-born American record producer, recording engineer, violinist, and composer. He is credited with co-founding A & R Recording Inc., which went on to become a major independent studio recording company in the United States of America. He is also credited with introducing optical surround sound for films. Ramone won 14 Grammy Awards during his career.

Born to a South African mother and a Dutch father in Pretoria, Theo de Raadt later moved to Canada with his family. The software engineer founded the OpenBSD and OpenSSH operating system networks and also contributed to NetBSD. He has also formed the Internet Exchange YYCIX in Calgary.

Graphic designer Margaret Calvert has created quite a name for herself, working with Jock Kinneir on projects such as the design of the road-signing system of the UK. She has also worked on signs at railway stations and airports, and the typeface on the website of the UK government.

Errol Musk is a South African engineer best known as the father of Elon Musk, who founded the popular American space transportation services company SpaceX. Errol Musk, who is credited with passing down his genius-level IQ to his son Elon, is popular for a number of reasons; he made headlines in 2018 for fathering a child with his former stepdaughter.