K. B. Quinan

Quinan was born in East Orange, New Jersey as the sixth son of Henry Julius Quinan who is said to have served as aide de camp to Stonewall Jackson during the American Civil War[1] (but no record exists of his serving on either side in the Civil War).

W.R. Quinan was hired by Cecil Rhodes to build a factory in South Africa to supply explosives for the De Beers mines.

[1] During the war, Quinan was responsible for the design, construction and proper operation of a number of large munitions and explosives ingredient factories in Britain.

[1] In 1917, he was one of the first recipients of the Order of the Companions of Honour, and the French government awarded him the Croix de Guerre.

[1] David Lloyd George publicly thanked him in the House of Commons and commented: It would be hard to point to anyone who did more to win the war than Kenneth Bingham Quinan.

[1][2]After the end of the war, Quinan returned to South Africa where he continued his work for De Beers at the Somerset West complex.