This expedition was Beebe's introduction to the tropics, with which he developed a long-standing fascination. He was the son of the late William Beebe, who died in 2006. [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. [210][232], Beebe remained active well into his old age. [52] The first expedition conducted under his new privileges, beginning in February 1908, took him to Trinidad and Tobago and Venezuela to research birds and insects. To some men, the jungle is a tangled place of heat and danger. William Beebe is regarded as one of the founders of the field of ecology, as well as one of the early 20th century's major advocates of conservation. In Japan, Beebe was given two cranes by the Imperial Household in exchange for a pair of swans, which were unknown in Japan. Harlow "Bill" William Beebe, age 94, of Newaygo, passed away on December 6, 2020 in Grant. Beebe's Tetrapteryx hypothesis is now regarded as prescient for its prediction of both the anatomy and likely gliding posture of Microraptor gui,[274] which Richard O. Prum has described as "[looking] as if it could have glided straight out of the pages of Beebes notebooks. All about us, nature puts on the most thrilling adventure stories ever created, but we have to use our eyes. [263], A lingering controversy exists in ichthyology over the validity of the four species Beebe described based on visual descriptions only, which he had observed during his Bathysphere dives. Beebe had frequently worried that Elswyth would write a biography of him after his death. We are sad to announce that on November 26, 2021, at the age of 79, John William Coulter of Beebe, Arkansas passed away. [229] Snow became a regular visitor to Simla,[230] and in return Beebe provided financial assistance for some of Snow's own research. [29][30] Blair subsequently accompanied Beebe on several of his expeditions, and as a writer herself, frequently assisted Beebe with his own writing. No, I don't want any bored men around me. [210] Finally, when the 1948 Venezuelan coup d'tat installed Marcos Prez Jimnez as Venezuela's dictator, Beebe decided that he could no longer continue to work in Venezuela. [205], Rancho Grande was located at a mountain pass in a branch of the Andes known as the Venezuelan Coastal Range, which was an important migration route for butterflies, and the station proved very lucrative in the study of insects. [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]. The palace's construction had been left unfinished after Gmez's death, and since then the building's vast corridors and ballrooms had become the home of jaguars, tapirs and sloths. [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). [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. [191] Beebe described his two expeditions onboard the Zaca in his books Zaca Venture and The Book of Bays, in which he emphasized his concern for threatened habitats and his dismay at human destruction. [246] As a result of his much-publicized divorce from Blair and his later marriage to Elswyth, he was also known for his stormy relationships with women. She was born on November 26, 1937, in Plainfield, NJ, the daughter of the late William H. Vermilye and Ruth Anderson Vermilye. [201] Beebe and his team used this station to study the ecology of the region and recorded how its inhabitants were affected by its cycle of wet and dry seasons. [170] Beebe's observations were relayed up the phone line to be recorded by Gloria Hollister,[171] his chief technical associate who was also in charge of preparing specimens obtained from dredging. Elswyth, who was most content in temperate environments, began searching for a home in New England where she could continue her writing. Please accept Echovita's sincere condolences. William C. Beebe, 49, passed away peacefully at Neighborhood Hospice in West Chester, PA on September 23, 2012. [221] Beebe's research at Simla combined elements of many different earlier stages of his research, including observations of the life cycles of the area's birds, detailed analyses of every plant and animal in small areas of forest, and studies of insect behavior. [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. He was born on February 26, 1926 to Gerald and Nora (Curtice) Beebe in Fremont, Michigan. William 'Bill' Harley Beebe. After following several leads which came to nothing, his goal was realized when George Withers, who owned a rubber plantation on the Mazaruni River, offered him the use of a large house on his property for this purpose. [207] During his work at Rancho Grande, Beebe broke his leg in a fall from a ladder, and the forced immobility which resulted from having his leg in a cast presented him with a new opportunity for observing the area's wildlife. [226][227] Jocelyn accompanied him on this expedition for the purpose of documenting Asia's fiddler crabs. [79] When the plague and riots had subsided, Beebe returned to China to document the local pheasant species, then made a second visit to Japan to study pheasants kept in the Imperial Preserves there. William Thomas Beebe. GROVELAND ~ William Wayne "Bill" Beebe, 76, of Groveland, passed away at 10:23 a.m. Sunday, September 20, 2020 at UnityPoint Health - Methodist in Peoria.He passed on what would have been his 52nd wedding anniversary. He quickly distinguished himself in his work for the zoo, first with his skill in designing habitats for its bird population, and soon also with a series of research expeditions of increasing length, including an expedition around the world to document the world's pheasants. Realizing that the area's politics might soon put an end to their research there, in spring of 1948 Jocelyn made a side trip to Trinidad and Tobago in hope of finding a site for a research station where the politics would be more secure. Other biologists who visited to conduct studies there and exchange ideas with Beebe included myrmecologist Ted Schneirla, ethologist Konrad Lorenz, entomologist Lincoln Brower, ethologist Donald Griffin, and ornithologist David Snow. [160] However, Beebe's ability to research the deep ocean using these methods was constrained by the inherent limitations of dredging, which could only provide an incomplete picture of the animals living there. [90], Blair's departure came as a shock to Beebe, and he was severely depressed for more than a year afterward. [136], Anchoring near Darwin Bay, Beebe made his first attempt at studying sea animals in their native environment by descending into the ocean in a diving helmet. In 1949, he founded a tropical research station in Trinidad and Tobago which he named Simla, and which remains in operation as part of the Asa Wright Nature Centre. [106] The best-known of these accounts is provided by the opening paragraph of his 1918 book Jungle Peace: After creeping through slime-filled holes beneath the shrieking of swift metal; after splashing one's plane through companionable clouds three miles above the little jagged, hero-filled ditches, and dodging other sudden-born clouds of nauseous fumes and blasting heart of steel; after these, one craves thoughts of comfortable hens, sweet apple orchards, or the ineffable themes of opera. Beebe was reluctant to accept speaking engagements because of the effect this had on his voice, although he continued to give lectures on occasion with Jocelyn's help. William worked many years in the grocery business in sales and held various managerial . [85] Obtaining a divorce in Reno required a person to demonstrate that their spouse had committed either adultery or extreme cruelty; Blair's complaint accused Beebe of the latter,[86] claiming that during the pheasant expedition he had threatened to commit suicide by "throwing himself in the river, shooting himself through the roof of the mouth with a revolver, and by cutting his throat with a razor. Obituary of William C. Beebe. [72], The expedition's next destination was Sarawak, on the island of Borneo. William met and married Sandra K. Herring. [182] Out of pragmatic concern for the success of their lives, they managed to resolve their disagreements well enough to work together at Nonsuch Island,[183] although they did not remain on good terms afterward. This promotion explicitly granted him two months off each year, for further research expeditions. Beebe based this theory on his observation that the hatchlings and embryos of some modern birds possess long quill feathers on their legs, which he regarded as an atavism; he also noticed vestiges of leg-wings on one of the specimens of Archaeopteryx. And when nerves have cried for a time "enough" and an unsteady hand threatens to turn a joystick into a signpost to Charon, the mind seeks ameliorationsome symbol of worthy content and peaceand for my part, I turn with all desire to the jungles of the tropics. We are sad to announce that on July 6, 2022, at the age of 64, William W. Beebe of Silver Springs, Florida passed away. While 83 of the fish that he described were done so in a conventional manner, the remaining four were done so based on visual observations. His observations documented several behaviors which were new to science, including the first documented example of play in birds. Mr. Beebe was born on September 22nd, 1946 at Holland. [41][42] The book was enthusiastically well received.[43]. In lieu of flowers, donations in memory of William can be made to the Lung Association of Saskatchewan. He also spent time in trenches and accompanied a Canadian Indian platoon on a night raid. William R. "Bill" Beebe, 78, of Dover died Tuesday, May 19, 2009 at Union Hospital with complications of a long term illness. [66], After crossing the Atlantic Ocean on the RMS Lusitania to London, where they gathered the supplies they would need for their expedition, Beebe and his team traveled across the Mediterranean Sea to Egypt, through the Suez Canal, and across the Indian Ocean to Ceylon, where they began their task of documenting the native wildfowl. William met and married Sandra K. Herring. "[275] This animal's discovery has had the effect of resurrecting Beebe's theory that leg feathers played an important role in the origin of bird flight. Meanwhile, Beebe began searching for a new tropical research station to replace Kartabo, which had fallen victim to deforestation just like Kalacoon before it. He graduated from Fremont High School in 1947, after returning from an enlistment with the U.S. Navy. [252] However, Hornaday never publicly expressed his disagreements with Beebe and did not hesitate to defend Beebe's work when others criticized it.[253]. His letter of congratulation to Beebe was the last letter that Roosevelt wrote before his death. [28] He then went on to serve as an honorary curator from 1919 to 1962. The publisher which Beebe chose for his work was George Witherby and Sons of London, as a result of their success publishing the artwork of John James Audubon. Beebe renamed the estate Simla, after the hill in India that featured in Rudyard Kipling's writings. To prevent this possibility, he left all of his papers and journals to Jocelyn. Burial is in the Cimarron Valley Cemetery, Lacey, OK under the direction of Ladusau-Evans Funeral Home. [162] The New York Times carried articles describing Beebe's plans, which called for a diving bell with the shape of a cylinder. [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. Due to Elswyth's tendency to misrepresent her age, conflicting accounts exist of how old she was when she and Beebe were married,[155] ranging from 23[91] to 28. [95] This expedition was an important turning point for Beebe in several ways. [55][56] Roosevelt frequently provided praise for Beebe's books, and went on to write introductions to Beebe's books Tropical Wild Life and Jungle Peace. [67] From Ceylon they traveled to Calcutta, with the goal of capturing the species of pheasants which live only in the Himalayas. [114], During the course of his career, Beebe authored over 800 articles and 21 books, including his four-volume pheasant monograph. A MEMORIAL SERVICE will be held at St. Peter's Roman Catholic Church 100 Argyle Street, Regina, Saskatchewan on Thursday, May 12, 2005 at 11:00am. [133] The Arcturus was outfitted with Beebe's pulpit and boom walk from the Noma, as well as cages and tanks for live animals, chemicals and vials to preserve dead ones, and a darkroom for developing film and studying the bioluminescent animals they hoped to encounter. [31][87] Although newspapers at the time reported Blair's accusations uncritically, with headlines such as "Naturalist was cruel",[88] modern biographers consider it more likely that Blair resorted to hyperbole to make a divorce case. [97] Soon after Beebe and his researchers moved into the plantation house, which was known by the name of Kalacoon, they were paid a visit by Theodore Roosevelt and his family. In October 1917, Beebe had his opportunity to serve in the war. [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. [80], His expedition was completed after a total of 17 months, Beebe and Blair crossed the Pacific to San Francisco, then crossed the United States to return to their home in New York. Service for William D. "Bill" Beebe, age 76, of Enid is Friday, September 11, 2020 at 10:00 am at Ladusau-Evans Funeral Home. [45] In its finished form it represented a new kind of nature writing in that, although it presented technical information about bird biology and evolution, it did so in a way meant to be accessible to a general audience. Beebe compared the knowledge that could be gained of the deep ocean from dredging to what a visitor from Mars could learn about a fog-shrouded earthly city by using a dredge to pick up bits of debris from a street. Family and friends are welcome to leave their condolences on this memorial page and share them with the family. [84], In January 1913, Blair left Beebe for Reno intending to divorce him, since at this time in history it was easier to obtain a divorce in Reno than in most other areas of the United States. [155] Elswyth and Beebe had an open marriage, in which neither expected sexual exclusivity from the other so long as their life together was not damaged. Barton's design called for a spherical vessel, which was the strongest possible shape for resisting high pressure. [142], Shortly after Beebe's return from this expedition, Anthony Kuser requested that Beebe produce a condensed, popular version of his pheasant monograph. [250], Beebe had a troubled relationship with some of his superiors at the zoo, particularly Hornaday, who was resentful of Beebe's constant demands for more funding and staff, as well as the fact that as Beebe's career progressed he gradually devoted less and less time to care for the zoo itself. 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