Sonja Morawetz Sinclair (December 3, 1921 – May 23, 2024) was a Czechoslovak-born Canadian journalist, author, and cryptographer. From the 1950s to the 1990s she worked independently for major Canadian publications including ''

Time Time is the continuous progression of existence that occurs in an apparently irreversible process, irreversible succession from the past, through the present, and into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequ ...

'',

Canadian Broadcasting Corporation The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (), branded as CBC/Radio-Canada, is the Canadian Public broadcasting, public broadcaster for both radio and television. It is a Crown corporation that serves as the national public broadcaster, with its E ...

, ''

Maclean's ''Maclean's'' is a Canadian magazine founded in 1905 which reports on Canadian issues such as politics, pop culture, trends and current events. Its founder, publisher John Bayne Maclean, established the magazine to provide a uniquely Canadian ...

'', ''

Chatelaine Chatelaine may refer to: *Chatelaine (chain), a set of short chains on a belt worn by women and men for carrying keys, thimble and/or sewing kit, etc. * Chatelaine (horse), a racehorse * ''Chatelaine'' (magazine), an English-language Canadian wom ...

'', ''

Canadian Business ''Canadian Business'' is the longest-publishing business magazine based in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, and founded in 1927. The print edition terminated in the end of 2016. Beginning in January 2017, the magazine was published online only. In Octob ...

'', ''

Financial Post The ''Financial Post'' is a financial news website, and business section of the ''National Post'', both publications of the Postmedia Network. It started as an English Canadian business newspaper, which published from 1907 to 1998. In 1998, the ...

'', authored four books and worked as director of communication for

Price Waterhouse PricewaterhouseCoopers, also known as PwC, is a multinational professional services network based in London, United Kingdom. It is the second-largest professional services network in the world and is one of the Big Four accounting firms, along ...

. In June 2017 she was honoured by the British government for her service as a World War II codebreaker for an Ottawa branch of

Bletchley Park Bletchley Park is an English country house and Bletchley Park estate, estate in Bletchley, Milton Keynes (Buckinghamshire), that became the principal centre of Allies of World War II, Allied World War II cryptography, code-breaking during the S ...

signals intelligence Signals intelligence (SIGINT) is the act and field of intelligence-gathering by interception of ''signals'', whether communications between people (communications intelligence—abbreviated to COMINT) or from electronic signals not directly u ...

between 1943 and 1945. She kept her wartime intelligence service secret from her closest family and friends for over seven decades.

Personal life

Morawetz Sinclair was born in

Úpice Úpice () is a town in Trutnov District in the Hradec Králové Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 5,400 inhabitants. Administrative division Úpice consists of two municipal parts (in brackets population according to the 2021 census): *� ...

Czechoslovakia Czechoslovakia ( ; Czech language, Czech and , ''Česko-Slovensko'') was a landlocked country in Central Europe, created in 1918, when it declared its independence from Austria-Hungary. In 1938, after the Munich Agreement, the Sudetenland beca ...

, on December 3, 1921, to parents Frida Glaser Morawetz and industrialist Richard Morawetz. She grew up in

Prague Prague ( ; ) is the capital and List of cities and towns in the Czech Republic, largest city of the Czech Republic and the historical capital of Bohemia. Prague, located on the Vltava River, has a population of about 1.4 million, while its P ...

. In late 1938, she fled Czechoslovakia through Nazi Germany to Great Britain. She spent a year at

Badminton School Badminton School is a private boarding and day school for girls aged 4 to 18 years situated in Westbury-on-Trym, Bristol, England. Named after Badminton House in Clifton, Bristol, where it was founded, the school has been located at its curren ...

Bristol Bristol () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city, unitary authority area and ceremonial county in South West England, the most populous city in the region. Built around the River Avon, Bristol, River Avon, it is bordered by t ...

before moving to Canada. As a student at

Trinity College Trinity College may refer to: Australia * Trinity Anglican College, an Anglican coeducational primary and secondary school in , New South Wales * Trinity Catholic College, Auburn, a coeducational school in the inner-western suburbs of Sydney, New ...

University of Toronto The University of Toronto (UToronto or U of T) is a public university, public research university whose main campus is located on the grounds that surround Queen's Park (Toronto), Queen's Park in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It was founded by ...

, she served as editor-in-chief of the Trinity Review. Morawetz Sinclair's sister-in-law

Cathleen Synge Morawetz Cathleen Synge Morawetz (May 5, 1923 – August 8, 2017) was a Canadian mathematician who spent much of her career in the United States. Morawetz's research was mainly in the study of the partial differential equations governing fluid flow, parti ...

was a distinguished mathematician at

NYU New York University (NYU) is a private research university in New York City, New York, United States. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded in 1832 by Albert Gallatin as a non-denominational all-male institutio ...

. Her brother Herbert Morawetz was also a notable chemist at NYU. Her brother

Oskar Morawetz Oskar Morawetz, (January 17, 1917 – June 13, 2007) was a Canadian composer. Biography Morawetz was born in Světlá nad Sázavou, Bohemia (now in the Czech Republic), into a Jewish family. He studied piano and theory in Prague and, follow ...

was a notable classical music composer. Morawetz married Ric Sinclair in 1945; he died in 2006. They had two sons and a daughter. Sonja Sinclair died in Toronto on May 23, 2024, at the age of 102.

World War II Codebreaker

Between 1943 and 1945, Morawetz Sinclair worked as a World War II codebreaker for an Ottawa extension of Bletchley Park signals intelligence. She was sworn to secrecy and did not reveal her work to her friends or family for over 70 years. In 2017 she was awarded the Bletchley Park Commemorative Badge for her service.

Mikhail Baryshnikov defection

In 1974, Morawetz Sinclair's family helped

Mikhail Baryshnikov Mikhail Nikolayevich Baryshnikov ( rus, Михаил Николаевич Барышников, p=mʲɪxɐˈil bɐ'rɨʂnʲɪkəf; ; born January 27, 1948) is a Latvian and American dancer, choreographer, and actor. He was the preeminent male ...

defect from the

USSR The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

. Baryshnikov sprinted away after a performance in downtown

Toronto Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...

to a waiting getaway car that took him to a farm near

Markham, Ontario Markham () is a city in Regional Municipality of York, York Region, Ontario, Canada. It is approximately northeast of Downtown Toronto. In the Canada 2021 Census, 2021 Census, Markham had a population of 338,503, which ranked it the largest in ...

. He stayed there for a couple of days until journalists caught up to him, at which point he moved to a cottage on

Lake Muskoka Lake Muskoka is located between Port Carling and Gravenhurst, Ontario, Canada. The lake is surrounded by many cottages. The lake is primarily within the boundary of the Township of Muskoka Lakes, the southeast corner is within the boundary of t ...

owned by Morawetz Sinclair's family. He remained there until he was assured the Canadian government would not extradite him. Baryshnikov settled in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

quickly thereafter.

Bibliography

* * * *

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Morawetz Sinclair, Sonya 1921 births 2024 deaths 20th-century Canadian journalists 20th-century Canadian non-fiction writers 20th-century Canadian women writers People from Trutnov District Canadian women centenarians Canadian women non-fiction writers Czechoslovak emigrants to Canada 20th-century Canadian women journalists Jewish centenarians