Beebe, William (Charles William Beebe) [key], 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).
See biography by C. G. Gould (2004).
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