William Beebe

William Beebe (Charles William Beebe) , 1877-1962, American ornithologist, explorer, and author, b. Brooklyn, N.Y., B.S. Columbia, 1898. He became (1899) curator of ornithology and later (1919) director of the department of tropical research at the New York Zoological Society. A well-known scientific celebrity in his day, he made expeditions to Central and South America, Indonesia, China, and the West Indies, and in 1934 made a record ocean descent of 3,028 ft (923 m) in a bathysphere. He also was a key figure in establishing the field of ecology. Among his numerous books are Galapagos (1923), Half Mile Down (1934), and Unseen Life of New York (1953).

Bibliography: See biography by C. G. Gould (2004).

Beebe, [Charles] William (1877–1962), graduated from Columbia (1898), became curator of ornithology of the New York Zoological Society, and until his death was director of the Society's tropical research department. His numerous expeditions to various parts of the world have been recorded in a long series of popular books. Among these are Beneath Tropic Seas (1928), Nonsuch: Land of Water (1932), Half Mile Down (1934), describing his ichthyological investigations underseas in a bathysphere, and Book of Bays (1942), and the earlier Two Bird‐Lovers in Mexico (1905), The Log of the Sun (1906), Our Search for a Wilderness (1910), Jungle Peace (1918), Galapagos, World's End (1924), Jungle Days (1925), The Arcturus Adventure (1926), and Pheasant Jungles (1927). Later works are High Jungle (1949) and Unseen Life of New York (1953).

bathysphere, an early observation chamber, a predecessor to the bathyscaphe. It was spherical and made of steel and was fitted with Perspex windows. In 1934 its designer, the American zoologist Charles William Beebe (1872–1962), one of the pioneers of oceanography, was lowered on a wire to a depth of 923 metres (3,028 ft), at that time a record for deep-sea diving.

See also underwater vehicle.