By: Allison Hudome

About William Beebe Charles William Beebe was born on July 29, 1877 in Brooklyn, New York. The Beebe family loved nature. Will spent many hours outdoors and attending lectures at the American Museum of Natural History with his parents. He went to Columbia University. He worked at the New York Zoological Park. He was a famous naturalist and explorer. He studied birds, the tropical jungle and the sea. He wrote many books and articles about his expeditions for the New York Zoological Society. He is remembered most for his world record descent to 3,028 feet in the Bathysphere in the ocean with his partner, Otis Barton, on August 15, He was married twice, first to Mary “Blair” Rice and later to Elswyth Thane Ricker. He died on June 4, 1962.

Ocean Exploration William Beebe started helmet diving in the ocean in the late 1920’s. He had many expeditions at sea where he studied sea life hauled up in trawling nets. A lot of the creatures from the deep did not survive when brought to the surface. He wanted to see the creatures alive in their habitats. In 1934, William Beebe and his partner, Otis Barton, made their world record descent to 3,028 feet in the Bathysphere, they invented for deep sea diving. He was the first person to observe marine life in its natural habitat. Photograph by The National Geographic Society

Quote William Beebe was quoted in On Agression by Konrad Lorenz as having said: “The isness of things is well worth studying ; but it is their whyness that makes life worth living.”

Fun Facts Beebe (and his partner Barton) held the world record for their half mile descent (3,028 feet) beneath the surface of the ocean for 15 years. The record was later broken by Barton. Will and his wife, Blair, went to Mexico to study and obtain animal specimens for the Zoological Park. Will was divorced and then married novelist Elswyth Thane Ricker. Beebe is often referred to as the Cousteau of his time.

Sources of Information sites.google.com/site/cwilliambeebe/ web.mit.edu/invent/iow/beebe.html en.wikiquote.org/wiki/William_Beebe Historyofdivingmuseum.blogspot.com