Du Toit spent two years qualifying in mining engineering at Royal Technical College, Glasgow.
Du Toit studied geology at the Royal College of Science, London.
In 1910 Du Toit received the Doctor of Science degree from the University of Glasgow for his report on the copper-nickel deposits of the Insiza Range.
Du Toit graduated from South Africa College (now the University of Cape Town).
On October 19, 1991 Post Authority issued in Pretoria a set of stamps depicted four greatest scientist of the country; Du Toit was one of them.
In 1933, Du Toit was awarded the Murchison Medal by the Geological Society of London.
Du Toit graduated from South Africa College (now the University of Cape Town).
Du Toit spent two years qualifying in mining engineering at Royal Technical College, Glasgow.
Du Toit studied geology at the Royal College of Science, London.
In 1910 Du Toit received the Doctor of Science degree from the University of Glasgow for his report on the copper-nickel deposits of the Insiza Range.
On October 19, 1991 Post Authority issued in Pretoria a set of stamps depicted four greatest scientist of the country; Du Toit was one of them.
In 1933, Du Toit was awarded the Murchison Medal by the Geological Society of London.
https://www.amazon.com/Introduction-Geology-Cape-Colony/dp/1373044756/?tag=2022091-20
1905
https://www.amazon.com/Wandering-Continents-Hypothesis-Continental-Drifting/dp/B000LYB6VM/?tag=2022091-20
1937
Ethnicity:
Du Toit's father was of Huguenot descent and his family had been in the Cape since 1687. His mother was the daughter of a Scottish immigrant.
Alexander Logie Du Toit was born on March 14, 1878, on his family’s estate near Cape Town. He was the eldest child of Alexander Du Toit and Anna Logie. His father’s family was one of the largest and most distinguished in South Africa.
Du Toit went to school at the local diocesan college and graduated from South Africa College (now the University of Cape Town) before spending two years qualifying in mining engineering at Royal Technical College, Glasgow, and studying geology at the Royal College of Science, London.
In 1910 he received the Doctor of Science degree from the University of Glasgow for his report on the copper-nickel deposits of the Insiza Range.
In 1901 Du Toit became a lecturer at both the Royal Technical College, Glasgow, and the University of Glasgow. In 1903 he returned to South Africa to join the Geological Commission of the Cape of Good Hope. He spent the next seventeen years almost continuously in the field, mapping, at times accompanied by his wife and child. This period laid the foundations for his broad understanding and unrivaled knowledge of the details of South African geology.
His first season, spent with A. W. Rogers in the western Karroo, determined many of what were to become his abiding interests. Together they established the stratigraphy of the Lower and Middle Karroo system noting the glacial origin of the Dwyka tillite. They recorded systematic phase changes from place to place in the Karroo and Cape systems, and also mapped numerous dolerite intrusives, their acid phases, and their metamorphic aureoles.
From 1903 to 1905 Du Toit was in the rugged Stormberg area, mapping so well that his accounts of the paleobotany of the coal-bearing Molteno beds and of the volcanicity have remained classics. From 1905 to 1910 he worked in the northern part of the old Cape Colony, mapping nonfossiliferous rocks of early Precambrian to Permian age. He became interested in geomorphology and hydrogeology and collaborated with Rogers in a new edition of the book Introduction to the Geology of Cape Colony.
Between 1910 and 1913 Du Toit was near the Indian Ocean, mapping Karroo coal deposits, the flexure of the Lebombo Range along the coast, and an immense number of basic intrusions and charnockite rocks that he discovered there. His “Underground Water in South-East Bechuanaland” (1906) and “The Geology of Underground Water Supply” (1913) were important monographs which served to establish him as the leading authority on groundwater in South Africa. In 1914 Du Toit visited Australia to study the rocks equivalent to the Karroo System and the groundwater geology of the Great Artesian Basin. From the outbreak of World War I until the campaign in South West Africa was over in 1915, he was hydrogeologist to the South African forces, holding the rank of captain.
Returning to Natal, Du Toit became increasingly involved in work for the irrigation department and transferred to it in 1920. The relief from continuous fieldwork that this provided enabled him to produce a series of important papers and books on the Karroo System (1918), Karroo dolerites (1920), Carboniferous glaciation (1921), past land connections with other continents (1921), the South African coastline (1922), and the geology of South Africa (1926).
In 1923 a grant-in-aid from the Carnegie Institution of Washington enabled Du Toit to make a trip to South America for the purpose of comparing the geology of that continent with that of Africa. He left Cape Town on June 12 and spent five months in Brazil, Paraguay, and Argentina. He described this visit in A Geological Comparison of South America with South Africa (1927), in which he also outlined points of similarity between the two continents.
He found the two continents to be alike in Precambrian crystalline basement with infolded pre-Devonian sediments; in the far north, a gentle syncline of marine Silurian and Devonian strata; farther south, gently dipping Proterozoic and Lower Paleozoic strata cut by granites; an area of flat-lying Devonian strata; in the extreme south, conformable Devonian to Permian strata including Carboniferous tillites crumpled by later mountain building; tillites extending northward transgressing across the Devonian on to the Precambrian basement before dying out; glacial deposits overlain by continental Permian and Triassic strata with Glossopteris flora, followed by extensive basalt flows and dolerite intrusives; Gondwana beds extending northward continuously from the southern Karroo to the Kaokoveld in Africa and from Uruguay to Minas Geraes in South America, with further great detached areas in the north, in each instance some distance inland, in the Angola-Congo and Piauhy-Maranhao regions; an intraformational break occurring commonly below the late Triassic; tilted Cretaceous beds occurring only along the coast; widespread horizontal Cretaceous and Tertiary strata; a succession in the Falkland Islands closely resembling that of the Cape, but distinct from that of Patagonia; seven corresponding faunal assemblages in the similar strata; and the geographical outline of the continent.
From 1927 to 1941 Du Toit was consulting geologist to De Beers Consolidated Mines but continued to write on many topics; in 1937 he published his well-known book Our Wandering Continents. In 1932 he visited North America, in 1937 the Soviet Union, and in 1938 India. From his retirement until his death he lived at Cape Town and maintained his varied interests, extending them to include archaeology and vertebrate zoology.
Alexander Logie Du Toit was not only the most honored of South African geologists but also, in the words of R. A. Daly, the “world’s greatest field geologist.” His versatility of mind is demonstrated by the important contributions he made to such varied subjects as the stratigraphy of both Precambrian and Karroo beds, paleobotany, petrology, hydrogeology, geomorphology, and the economic geology of base metal, nonmetallic, and diamond deposits. He was very active and mapped the geology of more than 100 square miles, much of it in detail, using a plane table with a bicycle for transport and a donkey cart as a base.
More than most scientists, he had an excellent reputation, because in many of his deductions he was ahead of his time. His forte was meticulous and extensive fieldwork which enabled him to grasp virtually all aspects of the geology of South Africa. Many of the ideas that he espoused concerning groundwater, economic deposits of copper and nickel, and geomorphology and stratigraphy of rocks were original but not remarkably different from those held by others.
The most significant factor of Du Toit’s work was his early espousal of the theory of continental drift; he was the first to realize that the southern continents had at one time formed the supercontinent of Gondwanaland, which was distinct from the northern supercontinent of Laurasia. His championship of continental drift, unpopular at the time, is now widely hailed as having been correct.
Du Toit received many honors and awards, including five honorary degrees. In 1933, he was awarded the Murchison Medal by the Geological Society of London.
In 1949, the year after his death, the Geological Society of South Africa inaugurated a biennial lecture series in his honour that continues to the present day.
In 1973, a 75 km crater on Mars was named "Du Toit" in recognition of his work.
On October 19, 1991, Post Authority issued in Pretoria a set of stamps depicted four greatest scientists of the country; Du Toit was one of them.
Toward the end of his life Du Toit supported the hypothesis of continental drift with arguments drawn from all parts of the world and considerations about the underlying mantle.
Du Toit was twice president of the Geological Society of South Africa, a corresponding member of the Geological Society of America, and a fellow of the Royal Society of London.
To a remarkable degree Du Toit combined two traits not often found together: an extremely careful observer, he noted and drew deductions from details that escaped others, and at the same time, he was able to synthesize information in a broad fashion.
Those who remember du Toit have a deep respect for his intellect, knowledge, and activity but even greater regard for his modesty, frugality, and kindness to all. These qualities, coupled with a strong character, made him an outstanding leader of men and a dominant figure in any company.
He was a proficient musician, his favorite instrument was the oboe. He also did some motorcycle racing.
While in Glasgow, Du Toit married Adelaide Walker. They had one child, Alexander Robert. Du Toit’s wife died in 1923, and two years later he married Evelyn Harvey.
