Sydney Skaife
| Sydney Harold Skaife | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Born |
12 December 1889 London, England |
| Died | 6 November 1976 (aged 86) Hout Bay, Cape Town, South Africa |
| Fields | Entomology |
| Alma mater |
University of Cape Town Natal University College University of Leipzig |
Sydney Harold Skaife ('Stacey') D.Sc FRSSAf. (12 December 1889 – 6 November 1976) was an eminent South African entomologist and naturalist. His career and educational publications covered a wide field. Especially in his later years his main research interest was in social insects and the transitional phases in sociality, particularly in the Hymenoptera and Isoptera.
He was also a school inspector, prolific author of scientific and popular books, broadcaster, and conservationist. Of his many achievements his greatest was probably his leading role in the creation of the Cape of Good Hope Nature Reserve between Cape Town and Cape Point. He lived for most of his life in Hout Bay on the Cape Peninsula.
Skaife was born in London, England, to Katherine and John Skaife. He spent his boyhood in Bath, Somerset and went to St Marks Grammar School. Educated at Reading University, England, he initially studied in the Arts, even though his passion lay with Biology. In 1911 he took the Intermediate BA examination of London University because Reading at that stage was not a university and could not confer a degree. He then studied for a Teacher's Diploma and passed it with distinction.
In 1912 he went to the University of Leipzig in Germany, at the urging of his uncle. He stayed with the Schober family. During this period he taught English to earn some extra money.
In 1913 he went to Cape Town to teach biology at the Rondebosch Boys High School. When World War I broke out in 1914, he tried to enlist for service, but was turned down on medical grounds due to an irregular heart beat, which was later found to be harmless.
He was then offered and accepted a post as entomologist at the Rosebank Research Station in Cape Town. Here he worked on insects that fed on stored grain. This was a particularly urgent issue at the time, since large quantities of grain were being stored at the Cape as part of the war effort.
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