Sir Basil Ferdinand Jamieson Schonland OMG CBE FRS (2 February 1896 – 24 November 1972) was noted for his research on lightning, his involvement in the development of

radar Radar is a system that uses radio waves to determine the distance ('' ranging''), direction ( azimuth and elevation angles), and radial velocity of objects relative to the site. It is a radiodetermination method used to detect and track ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

and for being the first president of the South African

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Birth and parentage

He was born in

Grahamstown Makhanda, formerly known as Grahamstown, is a town of about 75,000 people in the Eastern Cape province of South Africa. It is situated about northeast of Gqeberha and southwest of East London. It is the largest town in the Makana Local Mun ...

Cape Colony The Cape Colony (), also known as the Cape of Good Hope, was a British Empire, British colony in present-day South Africa named after the Cape of Good Hope. It existed from 1795 to 1802, and again from 1806 to 1910, when it united with three ...

to Selmar Schonland (botanist and a founder of

Rhodes University Rhodes University () is a public research university located in Makhanda (formerly Grahamstown) in the Eastern Cape Province of South Africa. It is one of four universities in the province. Established in 1904, Rhodes University is the prov ...

) and Flora MacOwan, daughter of Peter MacOwan.

Education

In 1910, Schonland matriculated at the age of 14 from St. Andrew's College as the top pupil in the

Cape Province The Province of the Cape of Good Hope (), commonly referred to as the Cape Province () and colloquially as The Cape (), was a province in the Union of South Africa and subsequently the Republic of South Africa. It encompassed the old Cape Co ...

. He later studied at

and

Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge Gonville and Caius College, commonly known as Caius ( ), is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1348 by Edmund Gonville, it is the fourth-oldest of the University of Cambridge's 31 colleges and ...

in the years 1914-15 and 1919-20.

World War I service

During

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, Schonland volunteered for service and served with the Signal Service of the Royal Engineers in France 1915-18. He was wounded at

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, mentioned in despatches and was awarded the OBE.

Early research

After the war he became a research student at the

Cavendish Laboratory The Cavendish Laboratory is the Department of Physics at the University of Cambridge, and is part of the School of Physical Sciences. The laboratory was opened in 1874 on the New Museums Site as a laboratory for experimental physics and is named ...

Cambridge University The University of Cambridge is a Public university, public collegiate university, collegiate research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209, the University of Cambridge is the List of oldest universities in continuous operation, wo ...

where he studied the scattering of beta particles. In 1922, Schonland returned to South Africa and took up a post at the

University of Cape Town The University of Cape Town (UCT) (, ) is a public university, public research university in Cape Town, South Africa. Established in 1829 as the South African College, it was granted full university status in 1918, making it the oldest univer ...

as a lecturer and later Professor of Physics.

Marriage and children

In 1923, Schonland married Isabel Craib and had one son and two daughters.

Bernard Price Institute

He left

Cape Town Cape Town is the legislature, legislative capital city, capital of South Africa. It is the country's oldest city and the seat of the Parliament of South Africa. Cape Town is the country's List of municipalities in South Africa, second-largest ...

in 1937 to become the founding director of the Bernard Price Institute of Geophysics at Witwatersrand University where he made significant contributions to the study of atmospheric electricity, photographing lightning and investigating the electric fields generated by thunderclouds. The South African

highveld The Highveld (Afrikaans: ''Hoëveld,'' , ) is the portion of the South African inland plateau which has an altitude above roughly , but below , thus excluding the Lesotho mountain regions to the south-east of the Highveld. It is home to some of t ...

has an exceptionally high lightning incidence which provided abundant material for his work. During this time he spent a scholarship year back at the Cavendish Laboratory, 1927-28.

World War II activity

As a Lt Col, Schonland commanded the South African Special Signals Services at the outbreak of the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

and led the development of South Africa's own radar system. In 1941 he went to

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to acquire more equipment for South Africa but was requested by Sir

John Cockcroft Sir John Douglas Cockcroft (27 May 1897 – 18 September 1967) was an English nuclear physicist who shared the 1951 Nobel Prize in Physics with Ernest Walton for their splitting of the atomic nucleus, which was instrumental in the developmen ...

to become superintendent of the Army Operational Research Group of the Air Defence Research and Development Establishment (AORG) at Richmond,

Surrey Surrey () is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Greater London to the northeast, Kent to the east, East Sussex, East and West Sussex to the south, and Hampshire and Berkshire to the wes ...

1941-44. Under his leadership the AORG made significant contributions in a number of fields, especially in the use of radar by the army. By 1944 he was the scientific adviser to Field Marshal

Bernard Montgomery Field Marshal Bernard Law Montgomery, 1st Viscount Montgomery of Alamein (; 17 November 1887 – 24 March 1976), nicknamed "Monty", was a senior British Army officer who served in the First World War, the Irish War of Independence and the ...

with

21st Army Group The 21st Army Group was a British headquarters formation formed during the Second World War. It controlled two field armies and other supporting units, consisting primarily of the British Second Army and the First Canadian Army. Established ...

in England, France and Belgium. By the war's end he held the rank of brigadier.

Post war scientific service

In 1945, Schonland returned to South Africa at the insistence of General

Jan Smuts Field Marshal Jan Christian Smuts, (baptismal name Jan Christiaan Smuts, 24 May 1870 11 September 1950) was a South African statesman, military leader and philosopher. In addition to holding various military and cabinet posts, he served as P ...

, the Prime Minister, to establish the

. He also resumed his post as director of the Bernard Price Institute at Witwatersrand University, and in 1951 became the first Chancellor of

, retaining this position until 1962. In 1954, Schonland became the deputy director and later director of the

Atomic Energy Research Establishment The Atomic Energy Research Establishment (AERE), also known as Harwell Laboratory, was the main Headquarters, centre for nuclear power, atomic energy research and development in the United Kingdom from 1946 to the 1990s. It was created, owned ...

Harwell, Oxfordshire Harwell is a village and civil parish in the Vale of White Horse about west of Didcot, east of Wantage and south of Oxford, England. The parish measures about north – south, and almost east – west at its widest point. In 1923, its area ...

Knighthood

He was knighted by

Queen Elizabeth II Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 19268 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until Death and state funeral of Elizabeth II, her death in 2022. ...

in 1960 as a

Knight Bachelor The title of Knight Bachelor is the basic rank granted to a man who has been knighted by the monarch but not inducted as a member of one of the organised Order of chivalry, orders of chivalry; it is a part of the Orders, decorations, and medals ...

for his services to British science.

Retirement and death

He retired to the family home near Winchester, in Hampshire, and died after a long illness on 24 November 1972.

Awards

He was awarded the OBE (military), 1919; CBE (military), 1944; and a knighthood, 1960. He was awarded the

Chree medal and prize The Edward Appleton Medal and Prize is awarded by the Institute of Physics for distinguished research in environmental physics, environmental, earth physics, earth or atmospheric physics. Originally named after Charles Chree, the British physici ...

in 1943, the

Hughes Medal The Hughes Medal is a silver-gilt medal awarded by the Royal Society The Royal Society, formally The Royal Society of London for Improving Natural Knowledge, is a learned society and the United Kingdom's national academy of sciences. T ...

in 1945, the

Elliott Cresson Medal The Elliott Cresson Medal, also known as the Elliott Cresson Gold Medal, was the highest award given by the Franklin Institute. The award was established by Elliott Cresson, life member of the Franklin Institute, with $1,000 granted in 1848. Th ...

in 1950, presented the inaugural Bernard Price Memorial Lecture in 1951 and was invited to give the Wilkins Lecture in 1955. He was an honorary fellow of Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge, 1959-72. In 1999, he was voted South Africa's "Scientist of the Century" and in 2002 he was awarded posthumously the

Order of Mapungubwe The Order of Mapungubwe is a South African civilian honour awarded by the President of South Africa. It recognises South African citizens whose achievements have international impact and serve the interests of South Africa. It is South Africa' ...

- Gold class (OMG) for his services to science in South Africa.

Schonland Research Centre

The Nuclear Physics Research Unit of the University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, founded by Friedel Sellschop, mentee of Prof Schonland, was renamed Schonland Research Centre in 1984.

Publications

* ''Atmospheric Electricity'' (1932) * ''The Flight of Thunderbolts'' (1950) * ''The Atomists 1805-1933'' (1968) Schonland's research papers were donated to the Churchill Archives Centre by Lady Schonland in 1973.

Notes

External links

The Papers of Sir Basil Schonland
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Schonland, Basil 1896 births 1972 deaths People from Makhanda, Eastern Cape Alumni of St. Andrew's College, Grahamstown Rhodes University alumni Alumni of Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge 20th-century South African physicists Academic staff of the University of Cape Town Royal Engineers officers British Army personnel of World War I South African military personnel of World War II South African Army officers South African people of German descent South African people of Scottish descent Fellows of the Royal Society South African Commanders of the Order of the British Empire South African emigrants to the United Kingdom South African Knights Bachelor Radar pioneers Presidents of the Southern Africa Association for the Advancement of Science