On this day in 1919, politician Ian Douglas Smith was born in Selukwe now Shurugwi, a small town in Midlands Province. His father was a prominent rancher in Rhodeisa. He did his primary education at Selukwe Primary, secondary education at Chaplin High School in Gweru and did a Bachelor of Commerce at the Rhodes University in South Africa. After completing his studies, Smith joined the British Royal Air Force in the World War