When he felt that the pressure of working under him had become too great, he would announce that his birthday was approaching, and his staff would have several days free from work to celebrate it. October 18, 1943 - September 4, 2020. "[185][186] It is unclear whether Elswyth knew of Beebe's affair with Gloria, but if she did she appears to not have minded it. [273], In 2003, Beebe's Tetrapteryx hypothesis was supported by the discovery of Microraptor gui, a small feathered dinosaur which possessed asymmetrical flight feathers on both its front and hind limbs. [202] One important study which resulted from this region was the first documentation of rhinoceros beetles using their horns in competition between males, proving that their horns were an adaptation for sexual selection rather than for defense against predators. [204], In the spring of 1944, Jocelyn Crane returned to Venezuela to search for a location for a new field station to replace the one at Caripito. [51] The following year Beebe received a promotion from the Zoological Society, placing him on equal footing with the research scientists at the Museum of Natural History. [27] The following year he was promoted from assistant curator to the rank of a full curator, a post he held until 1918. [159], With the financial help of his sponsors, Beebe planned to use his new research station on Nonsuch Island to conduct a thorough study of an 8-mile (13km) square area of ocean, documenting every living thing they could find from the surface to a depth of 2 miles (3.2km). [235], In an account of his final meeting with Beebe, Henry Fairfield Osborn, Jr. describes how during Beebe's last few years he gradually succumbed to illness, eventually becoming nearly immobile and incapable of speech. [146], In 1927, Beebe went on an expedition to Haiti to document its marine life. [107], Beebe's position in the Zoological Society changed in 1918: He was given the title of Honorary Curator of Birds and was made the director of the newly created Department of Tropical Research. [95], In 1916, Beebe traveled to Georgetown in pursuit of his earlier goal of establishing a permanent field research station in Guiana. [223] Local children periodically brought animal specimens to Beebe at Simla and asked him to classify them. [44] This book was a reworking of a manuscript that Beebe had submitted to Henry Holt in 1902, but which Holt had asked him to expand into a major work on birds. [20] In 1899, although he had completed all of the required courses for a degree in science from Columbia except for mathematics, he decided to forgo his studies in favor of an invitation from Osborn to work at the New York Zoological Park which was about to open. Memorial services were held in both Trinidad and Tobago and New York City so that Beebe's friends in both parts of the world could attend. [19], In November 1897, Frank Chapman sponsored Beebe to become an associate member of the American Ornithologists' Union, and the following month Beebe gave his first professional lecture on ornithology to a society called Uncle Clarence's Bergen Point Culture Club. Despite their failure to obtain their most sought-after prize, the expedition still returned with 280 live birds of 51 species, 33 of which were new to the zoo, although several of these died or escaped during the long trip back to New York. [128], Despite his ongoing research in Guiana, what Beebe desired most was to return to the Galpagos, this time with a properly fitted-out scientific research vessel that possessed the ability to dredge animals from beneath the ocean. [283] It is also a popular destination for birdwatchers, who can observe the same populations of hummingbirds, tanagers and oilbirds that William Beebe studied decades earlier.[279]. [76] He attributed his recovery to the pile of penny dreadful novels he discovered in his bungalow at Pungatong, which he then read constantly for the next few days. Elswyth, who was most content in temperate environments, began searching for a home in New England where she could continue her writing. Barton was convinced that Beebe's design for a diving vessel would never be capable of withstanding the extreme pressure of the deep ocean,[165] and with the help of a friend who arranged a meeting with Beebe, proposed an alternative design to him. Visitation Thursday 6-7 pm at the funeral home. William W. Beebe, Jr. of Silver Springs, Florida passed away on Wednesday, July 6, 2022 at the age of 64. He was the son of the late William Beebe, who died in 2006. [104][110] In January 1919 Roosevelt, who was severely ill by this point, wrote to Beebe from his hospital bed congratulating Beebe on the publication of his monograph. [172] Beebe and Barton made a total of 35 dives in the Bathysphere,[173] setting several consecutive world records for the deepest dive ever performed by a human. William R Beebe age 79 of Delta, Ohio, passed away at Swanton Health care and retirement Center Sunday, October 25, 2020. [238][239] According to his wishes, he was buried in Mucurapo Cemetery in Port of Spain. [194][217] He later described the sense of destiny that marked his introduction to the estate: We had climbed the winding road in a tropical downpour. He sailed along the border between the currents for several days to document it, theorizing that it could be the cause of the unusual climate which South America had recently been experiencing. [24] This was eventually built, although at less than half the size that Beebe had originally requested. [180] Beebe in turn lacked patience for Barton's unpredictable moods and felt that Barton did not display the proper respect for the natural world. [125] The book in which Beebe summarized this expedition, titled Galpagos: World's End, was an instant best-seller and remained on the New York Times top ten list for several months. [140] Observing the eruption from his ship for another two days, as well as again at a later point in the expedition, Beebe recorded how numerous birds and marine animals were killed after either failing to escape the lava or drawing too close to it in an attempt to scavenge other animals that had died. [153][154] Beebe and Elswyth were married on September 22, 1927, when Beebe was 50. [58] Another goal of this expedition was to find and capture a hoatzin, a bird whose clawed wings caused it to be considered an important link in the evolution of birds from reptiles. [41][42] The book was enthusiastically well received.[43]. Arrangements entrusted to Regina Funeral Home (306) 789-8850. Smith Family Funeral Home obituaries and Death Notices for the Little Rock, AR area. Roosevelt in turn admired Beebe's writing and his respect for the natural world. [120] Passing through the Sargasso Sea on the way to the Galpagos, Beebe was fascinated by the diversity of life that could be found in the sargassum weed floating on the surface and spent several days scooping the weed from the water to examine the creatures that lived in it. [231] Beebe devised an unusual method for determining how he would react to his visitors at Simla. [35], By the end of 1903, at the age of 26, Beebe had published more than thirty-four articles and photographs in the past year. [83] based on his observations he also proposed a new evolutionary model of pheasant ancestry, involving a period of rapid diversification followed by more typical and gradual changes. [15] At Columbia he studied under Henry Fairfield Osborn, and developed a close relationship with him which would endure until Osborn's death in 1935. Explore Life Stories, Offer Condolences & Send Flowers. [219] In 1953, Beebe donated both properties to the New York Zoological Society for one dollar,[211] giving him the position of one of the society's "Benefactors in Perpetuity". Obituary of William C. Beebe. [247] He was highly critical of efforts to use science to justify political ideologies, such as socialism[248] or the belief that women were inferior to men. [38] Although the purpose of the expedition was to discover, identify and collect Mexico's birds,[39] it has also been described as yet another honeymoon between him and Blair. [267] While many of Beebe's observations from the Bathysphere have since been confirmed by advances in undersea photography,[226] it is unclear whether others fit the description of any known sea animal. . [270], Along with his analysis of pheasant phylogeny and his studies of life in the Galpagos Islands, Beebe regarded one of his most important contributions to the field of evolutionary biology to be his hypothesis that the ancestors of birds passed through what he referred to as a Tetrapteryx stage, with wings on both their front and hind limbs. [93] The reproduction of the illustrations themselves was to be handled by several companies in Germany and Austria. Visitors who recognized these characters as Milne's creations were greeted by Beebe with enthusiasm, while those who did not recognize them were just endured by Beebe until they left. Searching for a way to satisfy his expedition's donors, Beebe hit upon the idea of documenting the marine life of the Hudson Gorge just beyond the shore of New York City. Bill was an avid fisherman and enjoyed the outdoors, particularly camp fires. This expedition marked the beginning of a shift for Beebe from ornithology to the study of tropical ecosystems. Following his Bathysphere dives, Beebe returned to the tropics and began to focus his study on the behavior of insects. [36], In December 1903, to avert another bout of Beebe's throat ailment, Hornaday sent him on an expedition to Mexico which would last until the following April. Published on September 4, 2020. [175] A second year-long interruption occurred in 1933, and was caused in part by a lack of funds due to the Great Depression. In recognition of the research conducted on his expeditions, he was granted honorary doctorates from Tufts and Colgate University. He was the coinventor of the bathysphere. [3][22] As assistant curator, one of his principal jobs was to breed and rear the zoo's birds in order to sustain their population. BEEBE, William Michael February 19, 1954 - August 19, 2016. [279] By 1971, the station had fallen into disuse and was declared closed. Predeceased by his father Ford Beebe, mother Anna Fraser Beebe, brother Dr. David Beebe, sister Janice Lise Beebe, niece Anna Beebe and brother-in-law Dave Lavallee. During this expedition Beebe captured 40 live birds for the zoo, belonging to 14 different species. In 1928 Beebe and Tee-Van published an illustrated and annotated list of 270 such species, which was expanded in 1935 bringing the total to 324. Born in Brooklyn, New York and raised in East Orange, New Jersey, Beebe left college before obtaining a degree to work at the then newly opened New York Zoological Park, where he was given the duty of caring for the zoo's birds. The location that she found, known as Rancho Grande, had initially been intended as a palace for Venezuela's dictator Juan Vicente Gmez in the Henri Pittier National Park. [50], In 1907, the journal Zoologica was founded by Osborn and Hornaday specifically as a place for Beebe to publish his research. View Source Share Save to Suggest Edits Memorial Photos Flowers Memorials Region North America USA Oklahoma [265] The naming of a new species ordinarily requires obtaining and analyzing a type specimen, something which was obviously impossible from inside the Bathysphere. [272] Beebe, however, continued to advance his Tetrapteryx hypothesis as late as the 1940s. [220], Research at Simla formally began in 1950. [177] Beebe and Barton also obtained publicity for their dives from several articles Beebe wrote describing them for National Geographic, and from an NBC radio broadcast in which Beebe's voice transmitted up the phone line from inside the Bathysphere was broadcast nationally over the radio. [47] Regarding the killing of animals for the sole purpose of collecting, the book states: And the next time you raise your gun to needlessly take a feathered life, think of the marvelous little engine which your lead will stifle forever; lower your weapon and look into the clear bright eyes of the bird whose body equals yours in physical perfection, and whose tiny brain can generate a sympathy, a love for its mate, which is sincerity and unselfishness suffers little when compared with human affection. [49] In 1906 Beebe presented his own collection, which had grown to 990 specimens during his earlier years as a collector, as a gift to the zoo for educational and research purposes. [150] She disliked the heat of the tropics and was unwilling to go with Beebe to Kartabo. We are sad to announce that on February 19, 2019, at the age of 57, William Beebe (Brookwood, Alabama) passed away. William 'Bill' Harley Beebe. His theory that organisms must be understood in the context of the ecosystems they inhabit was completely new for its time and has been highly influential. [218] Although the initial purchase of Simla had contained only the house and 22 acres (0.089km2) of the forest surrounding it, Beebe soon realized that this was insufficient for the research he wished to conduct, and purchased another neighboring estate known as St. Pat's which contained an additional 170 acres (0.69km2). In return, Beebe would pay for other expenses such as chartering a ship to raise and lower the sphere, and as the owner of the sphere, Barton would accompany Beebe on his expeditions in it. [23] Beebe placed much importance on the birds being given as much space as possible, and proposed the building of a "flying cage" the size of a football field. During the course of his expeditions, Beebe gradually developed an interest in marine biology, ultimately leading to his 1930s dives in the Bathysphere, along with its inventor, Otis Barton, off the coast of Bermuda. The reason they gave in their annual report was that the previous two seasons had produced so much material that they needed an additional year to analyze it, but in reality, this was more the result of insufficient funding as well as the unstable state of Venezuelan politics. Text size. [249] Beebe also disapproved of the eugenic ideas advocated by many biologists in the early 20th century, including some of his contemporaries at the zoo, although this was largely out of fear that these ideas would alienate friends of the zoo and cause divisions among its staff. [114][263] This was particularly significant in the area of conservation, of which he was one of the most important early advocates. 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