Michiel Daniel Overbeek
Michiel Daniel Overbeek, also known as Danie Overbeek, was a South African amateur astronomer and one of the most prolific variable star observers.Life
He studied in a Mining and Metallurgy program at the University of the Witwatersrand. During the Second World War he served in the South African Air Force and was awarded the Africa Star and mentioned in Dispatches. After the war he worked for South African Airways and South African Railways.
In 1945 he married Jean Mary Preddy, with whom he had four children. She died in 1985.[ ]Astronomy
Daniel Overbeek's serious interest in astronomy dates back to 1951, when he started observing occultations and variable stars. In 1958 he earned a B.Sc. degree in mathematics and astronomy from the University of South Africa.
In his life he contributed 287,240 observations to the American Association of Variable Star Observers International Database, becoming the most prolific AAVSO contributor. In 1998 he became the first amateur astronomer who detected supernova related gamma ray burst effects. He also monitored Earth's magnetic field and seismic activity with a magnetometer and a seismograph he had built, and observed sudden ionospheric disturbance.Acknowledgement
In 1956 Daniel Overbeek became the chairman of the Transvaal Centre of the Astronomical Society of Southern Africa. He was elected the president of the ASSA twice: in 1961 and 1999.
In 1984 he was awarded the Gill Medal, the highest ASSA honour.
