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 detection system that uses radio waves to determine the distance (''ranging''), angle, and radial velocity of objects relative to the site. It can be used to detect aircraft, Marine radar, ships, spacecraft, guided missiles, motor v ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

and for being the first president of the South African

Council for Scientific and Industrial Research The Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) is South Africa's central and premier scientific research and development organisation. It was established by an act of parliament in 1945 and is situated on its own campus in the c ...

Birth and parentage

He was born in

Grahamstown Makhanda, also known as Grahamstown, is a town of about 140,000 people in the Eastern Cape province of South Africa. It is situated about northeast of Port Elizabeth and southwest of East London. Makhanda is the largest town in the Makana ...

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

to Selmar Schonland (botanist and a founder of

Rhodes University Rhodes University is a public research university located in Makhanda (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 province's oldest ...

) and Flora MacOwan, daughter of

Peter MacOwan Peter MacOwan (14 November 1830 in Hull, England – 30 November 1909 in Uitenhage, Cape Province) was a British colonial botanist and teacher in South Africa. Early life and education He was the son of Peter McOwan, a Wesleyan minister from ...

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 ( af, Provinsie Kaap die Goeie Hoop), commonly referred to as the Cape Province ( af, Kaapprovinsie) and colloquially as The Cape ( af, Die Kaap), was a province in the Union of South Africa and subsequen ...

. He later studied at

and

Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge Gonville and Caius College, often referred to simply as Caius ( ), is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1348, it is the fourth-oldest of the University of Cambridge's 31 colleges and one of t ...

in the years 1914-15 and 1919-20.

World War I service

During

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...

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

Arras Arras ( , ; pcd, Aro; historical nl, Atrecht ) is the prefecture of the Pas-de-Calais department, which forms part of the region of Hauts-de-France; before the reorganization of 2014 it was in Nord-Pas-de-Calais. The historic centre of ...

, 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 , mottoeng = Literal: From here, light and sacred draughts. Non literal: From this place, we gain enlightenment and precious knowledge. , established = , other_name = The Chancellor, Masters and Schola ...

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) ( af, Universiteit van Kaapstad, xh, Yunibesithi ya yaseKapa) is a public research university in Cape Town, South Africa. Established in 1829 as the South African College, it was granted full university statu ...

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 ( af, Kaapstad; , xh, iKapa) is one of South Africa's three capital cities, serving as the seat of the Parliament of South Africa. It is the legislative capital of the country, the oldest city in the country, and the second largest ...

in 1937 to become the founding director of the Bernard Price Institute of Geophysics at

Witwatersrand University The University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg (), is a multi-campus South African Public university, public research university situated in the northern areas of central Johannesburg. It is more commonly known as Wits University or Wits ( o ...

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 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, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...

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

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe ...

to acquire more equipment for South Africa but was requested by Sir John Cockcroft to become superintendent of the Army Operational Research Group of the Air Defence Research and Development Establishment (AORG) at

Richmond Richmond most often refers to: * Richmond, Virginia, the capital of Virginia, United States * Richmond, London, a part of London * Richmond, North Yorkshire, a town in England * Richmond, British Columbia, a city in Canada * Richmond, Californi ...

Surrey Surrey () is a ceremonial county, ceremonial and non-metropolitan county, non-metropolitan counties of England, county in South East England, bordering Greater London to the south west. Surrey has a large rural area, and several significant ur ...

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 an ...

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 ...

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, (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 prime minister of the Union of South Af ...

, 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) was the main centre for atomic energy research and development in the United Kingdom from 1946 to the 1990s. It was created, owned and funded by the British Government. A number of early res ...

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. The parish measures about north – south, and almost east – west at its widest point. In 1923 its area was . Hi ...

Knighthood

He was knighted by

Queen Elizabeth II Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 1926 – 8 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until her death in 2022. She was queen regnant of 32 sovereign states during ...

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 orders of chivalry; it is a part of the British honours system. Knights Bachelor are ...

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 in 1943, the

Hughes Medal The Hughes Medal is awarded by the Royal Society of London "in recognition of an original discovery in the physical sciences, particularly electricity and magnetism or their applications". Named after David E. Hughes, the medal is awarded wit ...

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. The ...

in 1950, presented the inaugural

Bernard Price Memorial Lecture The Bernard Price Memorial Lecture is the premier annual lecture of the South African Institute of Electrical Engineers. It is of general scientific or engineering interest and is given by an invited guest, often from overseas, at several of the ...

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 South Africa's highest honour. It was instituted on 6 December 2002, and is granted by the President of South Africa, for achievements in the international arena which have served South Africa's interests. The order orig ...

- 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 The Churchill Archives Centre (CAC) at Churchill College at the University of Cambridge is one of the largest repositories in the United Kingdom for the preservation and study of modern personal papers. It is best known for housing the papers of ...

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 University of Cape Town academics 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 White South African people 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 South African Knights Bachelor Radar pioneers Presidents of the Southern Africa Association for the Advancement of Science