Born in London in 1913, Derek Justin Schove was educated at the Friends’ School, Saffron Walden and later at the University of London. During the Second World War he was in the RAF serving as a meteorologist. His professional career was as a schoolmaster. He taught at St David’s College before the war and later became the school’s Principal and owner, posts he held for over 45 years.

Schove's lifelong interest was in the problem of dating historical events, to which end he began his ‘Spectrum of Time’ project. The project analyzed natural phenomena (mainly astronomical), such as aurorae, sunspots, eclipses, storms, floods and climactic fluctuations, as well as studies of tree rings and ice cores, to help fix historical dates. Schove authored over 150 papers, articles and books, making a valuable contribution to the study of historical chronologies.

Schove was a Fellow of the Royal Astronomical Society and of the Society of Antiquaries, and was Chairman of the Bromley and Beckenham Branch of the Historical Association. He died in 1986.