John Langalibalele Dube (1870-1949) was a South African writer and propagandist for Zulu culture. He was one of the first writers in an African language.

John L. Dube was born on Feb. 11, 1870, at Inanda, Natal. His father was one of the first African ministers ordained by American missionaries. Dube studied at Oberlin College (1888-1890) and later at the Union Missionary Training Institute in Brooklyn.

On his return to Natal in 1901, his admiration for such leaders as Booker T. Washington drove him to found the first native-owned educational institution in South Africa, the Zulu Christian Industrial School, at Ohlange. Its purpose was to teach the Christian religion and modern skills while encouraging the development of Zulu culture. During the first decade of the 20th century, while writing articles in English for the Missionary Review of the World, Dube also launched the first Zulu newspaper, Ilanga laseNatal (The Sun of...