Sir Basil Schonland OBE CBE (2 February 1896 - 24 November 1972) was the first president of the South African Council for Scientific and Industrial Research. He was born in Grahamstown, South Africa to Selmar Schönland and Flora MacOwan. In 1910 Schonland matriculated at the age of 14 from St Andrew's College as the top pupil in the Cape Province. He later graduated from Rhodes and Cambridge Universities. February 2 is the 33rd day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar. ... See also: 1895 in South Africa, other events of 1896, 1897 in South Africa and the Timeline of South African history. ... November 24 is the 328th day (329th on leap years) of the year in the Gregorian Calendar. ... The Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) is South Africas central and premier scientific research and development organization. ... Grahamstown is a town in the Eastern Cape Province, of the Republic of South Africa and is known in Xhosa as iRhini. ... Under the Union of South Africa and after that under the Republic of South Africa, the old Cape Colony became the Cape of Good Hope Province (though it was commonly known as the Cape Province). ... Rhodes University is one of South Africas oldest and most famous university institutions. ... REDIRECT [1] ...

During World War One, Schonland volunteered for service and served with the Signal Service of the Royal Engineers in France. He was wounded at Arras and was awarded the OBE. After the war he became a research student at the Cavendish Laboratory, Cambridge University where he studied the scattering of beta particles. In 1922, Schonland returned to South Africa and took up a post at University of Cape Town as a lecturer and later Professor of Physics. World War I was primarily a European conflict with many facets: immense human sacrifice, stalemate trench warfare, and the use of new, devastating weapons - tanks, aircraft, machine guns, and poison gas World War I, also known as the First World War, the Great War, the War of the Nations and... Arras is a city and commune in northern France, préfecture (capital) of the Pas-de-Calais département. ... REDIRECT [1] ... See also: 1921 in South Africa, other events of 1922, 1923 in South Africa and the Timeline of South African history. ... The University of Cape Town is a major tertiary education institution in Cape Town, South Africa, located on the Rhodes Estate on the slopes of Devils Peak. ...

In 1923 Schonland married Isabel Craib and had one son and two daughters. He left Cape Town in 1937 to become the director of the Bernard Price Institute of Geophysics at Witwatersrand University. See also: 1922 in South Africa, other events of 1923, 1924 in South Africa and the Timeline of South African history. ... City motto: Spes Bona (Latin: Good Hope) Province Western Cape Mayor Nomaindia Mfeketo Area  - % water 1,644 km² 0. ... The University of the Witwatersrand is a leading South African university situated in Johannesburg. ...

Schonland joined the South African Special Signals Services at the outbreak of the Second World War and worked on radar research. In 1941 he was sent to England to advise on radar. He became the superintendent of the Army Operational Research Group of the Air Defence Research and Development Establishment at Richmond, Surrey and became one of the key playesr in radar research. By 1944 he was the scientific adviser to General Richard Montgomery with 21st Army Group in England, France and Belgium. By the war end he held the rank of colonel. World War II was a truly global conflict with many facets: immense human suffering, fierce indoctrination, and the use of new, extremely devastating weapons such as the atom bomb. ... This long range radar antenna (approximately 40m (130ft) in diameter) rotates on a track to observe activities near the horizon. ... See also: 1940 in South Africa, other events of 1941, 1942 in South Africa and the Timeline of South African history. ... Royal motto (French): Dieu et mon droit (Translated: God and my right) Englands location within the UK Official language English de facto Capital London de facto Largest city London Area - Total Ranked 1st UK 130,395 km² Population - Total (mid-2004) - Density Ranked 1st UK 50. ... Richmond refers to various place names, schools and universities, people, and other uses around the world. ... Surrey is a county in southern England, part of the South East England region and one of the Home Counties. ... 1944 (MCMXLIV) was a leap year starting on Saturday (link will take you to calendar). ... An engraving depicting the death of General Montgomery at the Battle of Quebec. ... Royal motto (French): Dieu et mon droit (Translated: God and my right) Englands location within the UK Official language English de facto Capital London de facto Largest city London Area - Total Ranked 1st UK 130,395 km² Population - Total (mid-2004) - Density Ranked 1st UK 50. ...

In 1945 Schonland returned to South Africa and with the help of General Jan Smuts, established the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research. He also resumed his post as director of the Bernard Price Institute at Witwatersrand University and in 1951 became the first Chancellor of Rhodes University. In 1954, Schonland became the deputy director and later director of the Atomic Energy Research Establishment at Harwell, Oxfordshire. When the United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority was created in 1960, he became the director of its research group. He was knighted by Queen Elizabeth II in 1960 for his services to British science. See also: 1944 in South Africa, other events of 1945, 1946 in South Africa and the Timeline of South African history. ... Jan Smuts Jan Christiaan Smuts, OM (May 24, 1870 – September 11, 1950) was a prominent South African statesman and general. ... The Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) is South Africas central and premier scientific research and development organization. ... See also: 1950 in South Africa, other events of 1951, 1952 in South Africa and the Timeline of South African history. ... Rhodes University is one of South Africas oldest and most famous university institutions. ... The Atomic Energy Research Establishment near Harwell, Oxfordshire was the main centre for atomic energy research and development in the United Kingdom from the 1940s to the 1990s. ... Harwell is a small village in Oxfordshire, England (previously in Berkshire). ... The United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority was established in 1954 as a statutory corporation to oversee and pioneer the development of nuclear energy within the United Kingdom. ... 1960 was a leap year starting on Friday (link will take you to calendar). ... The silver Anglia knight, commissioned as a trophy in 1850, intended to represent the Black Prince. ... Queen Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary Windsor), born 21 April 1926, is the Queen regnant of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Jamaica, Barbados, the Bahamas, Grenada, Papua New Guinea, the Solomon Islands, Tuvalu, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Antigua and...

Schonland died after a long illness on 24 November 1972. In 1999, he was voted South Africa's "Scientist of the Century" and in 2002 he was awarded posthumously the Order of Mapungubwe - Gold class for his services to science in South Africa. November 24 is the 328th day (329th on leap years) of the year in the Gregorian Calendar. ... 1972 (MCMLXXII) was a leap year that started on a Saturday. ... See also: 1998 in South Africa, other events of 1999, 2000 in South Africa and the Timeline of South African history. ... See also: 2001 in South Africa, other events of 2002, 2003 in South Africa and the Timeline of South African history. ... The Order of Mapungubwe is South Africas highest honour. ...