Athelstan Frederick Spilhaus was born on 25 Nov 1911 in Cape Town and spent his early years on a farm near Natal. Spilly, as he was fondly known, attended schools in the United Kingdom before returning to South Africa and being admitted to the University of Cape Town at age 15. He graduated with a B.Sc. in 1931 and a doctorate in oceanography in 1948. He moved to the USA in 1931. He earned a master's degree in aeronautical engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in 1933, and a D.Sc. from Coe College in 1961. He was a research assistant at MIT from 1934 to 1935, and then became assistant director of technical services for the Union of South Africa Defence Force until 1936. In 1947, he served as meteorological advisor for the Union of South Africa. He became an American citizen in 1946. By special act of Congress in 1943, he became a temporary officer in the Army Air Corps. In 1944 and 1945 he ran weather stations in northern China, living in caves near Mao Tse-Tung's headquarters behind Japanese lines, supplying weather reports critical to US bombers out of Guam and Saipan.
He was awarded 11 honorary degrees and received many honors, including the French Legion of Merit and Sweden's Berzelius Medal. His awards included a Decorated Legion of Merit Exceptional Civilian Service Medal from the U.S. Air Force, and a Patriotic Civilian Service Award from the U.S. Army. A man of many talents, he was also a sculptor and collected antique mechanical toys. He wrote 11 books and published more than 300 articles. He is credited with the research and development of meteorological equipment, radar and radio upper wind finding, and the development of meteorological instruments for measurements from aircraft in flight.
He died of chronic pulmonary disease on 30 March 1998 at his home in Middleburg, Virginia. He was buried at Arlington National Cemetery with full military honours. Spilly was survived by his wife, Kathleen Ann Fitzgerald Spilhaus; two sons, A.F. Jr., of Potomac, and Karl Henry Spilhaus of Needham, Mass.; a daughter, Margaret Ann Morse of Richmond; 13 grandchildren; and five great-grandchildren.
