Elon Musk
Musk in 2012, photo by PrPhotos
Place of Birth: Pretoria, Transvaal, South Africa
Date of Birth: June 28, 1971
Ethnicity: English, smaller amounts of Scottish, German/Swiss-German, and Afrikaner [French Huguenot, Dutch, German, Belgian, remote Swedish, Indonesian, and Malaysian], distant Welsh
Elon Musk is a South African-Canadian-American inventor, businessperson, engineer, and investor. In 2021, he became the richest person in the world. He was Time Magazine’s Person of the Year for 2021.
Elon was born in Pretoria, Transvaal, South Africa. His father, Errol Graham Musk, is South African-born, and has English, Afrikaner [Dutch, French Huguenot, German, some Belgian, remote Swedish, Indonesian, and Malaysian], a small amount of Scottish, and distant Welsh, ancestry. His mother, Winnefred Maye (née Haldeman), a model and dietician, is Canadian-born, from Regina, Saskatchewan, and has English, and smaller amounts of Scottish, German, and Swiss-German, ancestry. Her family traveled around the world during her childhood, including living in South Africa beginning in 1950, and searching Africa for the Lost City of the Kalahari.
His first name, Elon, is likely after the middle name of his own maternal great-grandfather, John Elon Haldeman.
Elon moved to Canada in 1989 for college, which he attended in Saskatchewan, Ontario, and Pennsylvania. He now lives in the U.S. He is the brother of Kimbal Musk, a businessperson, and Tosca Musk, a producer and director. Elon has had six children with his former wife, Canadian author Justine Musk; two children with his former partner, Canadian singer and songwriter Grimes; and two children with Canadian venture capitalist Shivon Zilis.
Elon’s Musk line can be traced to Nicholas Muske, who was born, c. 1535, in Suffolk, England.
Elon’s paternal grandfather was Walter Henry James Musk (the son of Harry Musk and Lucy Frances Champion). Walter was born in Cape Province, South Africa. Harry was born in Exning, Suffolk, England, and was the son of William Exning Bridgeman and Eliza Musk. Lucy was born in Caledon, South Africa, the daughter of John Irish Champion, who was of English origin, and of Jacoba Louisa Theron, who was Afrikaner.
Elon’s paternal grandmother was Cora Amelia Robinson (the daughter of John Robinson and Breghie Elizabeth Theron). Cora was born in West Derby, Lancashire, England. John was born in Liverpool, England, the son of Levi Robinson and Matilda Marsh. Breghie was born in Beaufort West, South Africa, the daughter of Johannes Nicolaas Theron and Amelia Elenora Janse van Vuuren. She was of Afrikaner, and some English and Scottish, descent.
Elon’s maternal grandfather was Dr. Joshua Norman Haldeman (the son of John Elon Haldeman and Almeda Jane Norman). Joshua was born in Minnesota, U.S., and was a chiropractor and amateur archeologist. John was born in Illinois, the son of Jeremiah “Jerry” Haldeman, whose mother was Scottish, and of Rowena C. Powers. Almeda was born in Minnesota, the daughter of Joshua Norman, whose parents were English, and of Almeda Melissa Densmore, who was of Colonial American (English) descent. Elon’s great-grandmother Almeda Haldeman became Canada’s first chiropractor.
Elon’s maternal grandmother was Winnifred Josephine “Wyn” Fletcher (the daughter of Harold Fletcher and Edith Reeve Angel). Winnifred was born in Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan, Canada, to English parents. Edith was from Clapham, Surrey, now part of Lambeth, Greater London, and was the daughter of Frederick John Reeve Angel and Eliza Parry.
Each of Elon’s grandparents was born in a different country, something that is fairly rare. Actors Remy Auberjonois, Hart Bochner, Raymond Cham, Jr., Noah Emmerich, Lily James, Stephen Lang, Jessica Lange, Logan Lerman, Robert Morley, Brett Pierce, Ben Rosenfield, Andy Samberg, and Wallace Shawn, singer and songwriter Paula Cole, and Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, are others whose grandparents were born in four individual countries.
Sources: Genealogy of Elon Musk – https://www.geni.com
Genealogy of Elon’s father (through his own brother) – http://www.genealogy.com
Genealogy of Elon’s paternal great-grandmother, Lucy Frances Champion – https://www.wikitree.com
Birth record of Elon’s mother – https://www.familysearch.org
Elon’s maternal great-great-grandparents, Jeremiah “Jerry” Haldeman and Rowena C. Powers, on the 1910 U.S. Census – https://www.familysearch.org
Elon’s maternal great-grandmother, Almeda Jane Norman, on the 1880 U.S. Census – https://www.familysearch.org
Biographical profile of Elon’s maternal great-grandmother, Almeda Jane (Norman) Haldeman – https://www.canadianchiropractor.ca
Elon’s maternal grandmother, Winnifred Josephine “Wyn” Fletcher, on the 1916 Canada, Prairie Provinces Census – https://www.familysearch.org
Winnifred Josephine “Wyn” Fletcher on the 1926 Canada, Prairie Provinces Census – https://www.familysearch.org
His ethnicity was updated to include the full extent of his Afrikaner heritage. Cool.
Are there any full-blooded Hugenots left? It seems like people only have them as remote ancestors.
@Gavinboi
Nowadays there are about 300.000 Protestants in France according to last data.
Anyhow those with remote Huguenot ancestors usually are the Americans whose ancestors trace back to Colonial times [last names like Delano, Chastain, Duvall, Reno (Renaud), DuBose etc] and married into families of other backgrounds.
There’s no need to specify “Huguenot” for French. It’s not like Huguenot French is ethnically different than Catholic French, it’s just a religion.
The French who made South Africa were Huguenots: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Huguenots_in_South_Africa
Edith’s full maiden name is Edith Reeve Angel, and she was from Clapham, Surrey (now part of Lambeth, Greater London). She was the daughter of Frederick John Reeve Angel and Eliza Parry.