Simon Biesheuvel

Simon Biesheuvel (3 April 1908 – 13 June 1991) was a Dutch-born South African psychologist. He is considered to be one of the most influential psychologists in the history of South Africa, and a 1991 obituary described him as "the doyen of psychologists in South Africa." In recognition of his research on African perceptions of European customs, he was honored by the South African Association for the Advancement of Science with their Durban Medal in 1956. He received the South Africa Medal from the same Association in 1962. In 1959, he delivered the fifteenth annual Alfred and Winifred Hoernlé Memorial Lecture.

Work Biesheuvel is noted for a 1943 monograph in which he argued for an environmental interpretation of the gap in intelligence test scores between whites and blacks in South Africa. In making these arguments, Biesheuvel also criticized the views of hereditarian psychologists such as M. L. Fick and Carl Brigham.

Personal life and death Biesheuvel married Erica Sharpley, and together they had two daughters: Mary Ann and Sally. Biesheuvel died on 13 June 1991 at his home in Johannesburg, South Africa.