Beebe, Charles William , 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. He made expeditions to Central and South America, Asia, and the West Indies, and in 1934 he made a record descent of 3,028 ft (923 m) in a bathysphere. Among his numerous books are Galapagos (1923), Half Mile Down (1934), and Unseen Life of New York (1953).

The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, 6th ed. Copyright © 2005, Columbia University Press. All rights reserved.

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