Cyril Frederick Cherrington Beeson CIE,

D.Sc. Doctor of Science ( la, links=no, Scientiae Doctor), usually abbreviated Sc.D., D.Sc., S.D., or D.S., is an academic research degree awarded in a number of countries throughout the world. In some countries, "Doctor of Science" is the degree used f ...

(1889–1975) was an English

entomologist Entomology () is the scientific study of insects, a branch of zoology. In the past the term "insect" was less specific, and historically the definition of entomology would also include the study of animals in other arthropod groups, such as arach ...

and forest conservator who worked in India. Beeson was an expert on forest entomology who wrote numerous papers on insects, and whose book on Indian forest insects remains a standard work on the subject. After his retirement and return to England he became an

antiquarian An antiquarian or antiquary () is an fan (person), aficionado or student of antiquities or things of the past. More specifically, the term is used for those who study history with particular attention to ancient artifact (archaeology), artifac ...

horologist Horology (; related to Latin '; ; , interfix ''-o-'', and suffix ''-logy''), . is the study of the measurement of time. Clocks, watches, clockwork, sundials, hourglasses, clepsydras, timers, time recorders, marine chronometers, and atomic clo ...

Family

Beeson was born in Oxford on 10 February 1889 to Walter Thomas Beeson and Rose Eliza Beeson, ''née'' Clacey. Walter Beeson was Surveyor to

St John's College, Oxford St John's College is a constituent college of the University of Oxford. Founded as a men's college in 1555, it has been coeducational since 1979.Communication from Michael Riordan, college archivist Its founder, Sir Thomas White, intended to pro ...

. In 1922, Beeson married Marion Cossentine, daughter of Samuel Fitze. They had a daughter, Barbara Rose, who was born about 1925. Marion died in 1946 after a long period of ill-health. In 1971, aged 82, Beeson married his second wife, Mrs Margaret Athalie Baldwin Carbury, formerly of Kenya, daughter of Cecil William Allen. Beeson died on 3 November 1975.

Education

Beeson attended

City of Oxford High School for Boys The City of Oxford High School for Boys (a.k.a. Oxford High School for Boys and City of Oxford School) was founded in 1881 by Thomas Hill Green to provide Oxford boys with an education which would enable them to prepare for University. History ...

, where his best friend was

T. E. Lawrence Thomas Edward Lawrence (16 August 1888 – 19 May 1935) was a British archaeologist, army officer, diplomat, and writer who became renowned for his role in the Arab Revolt (1916–1918) and the Sinai and Palestine Campaign (1915–1918 ...

(known to Beeson as "Ned", better remembered today as

Lawrence of Arabia Thomas Edward Lawrence (16 August 1888 – 19 May 1935) was a British archaeologist, army officer, diplomat, and writer who became renowned for his role in the Arab Revolt (1916–1918) and the Sinai and Palestine Campaign (1915–191 ...

). Lawrence called him by his nickname of "Scroggs". At the age of 15 Beeson and Lawrence bicycled around

Berkshire Berkshire ( ; in the 17th century sometimes spelt phonetically as Barkeshire; abbreviated Berks.) is a historic county in South East England. One of the home counties, Berkshire was recognised by Queen Elizabeth II as the Royal County of Berk ...

, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire, visited almost every village's parish church, studied their

monuments A monument is a type of structure that was explicitly created to commemorate a person or event, or which has become relevant to a social group as a part of their remembrance of historic times or cultural heritage, due to its artistic, hist ...

and

antiquities Antiquities are objects from antiquity, especially the civilizations of the Mediterranean: the Classical antiquity of Greece and Rome, Ancient Egypt and the other Ancient Near Eastern cultures. Artifacts from earlier periods such as the Meso ...

and made rubbings of their

monumental brass A monumental brass is a type of engraved sepulchral memorial, which in the 13th century began to partially take the place of three-dimensional monuments and effigies carved in stone or wood. Made of hard latten or sheet brass, let into the paveme ...

es. The two schoolboys monitored building sites in Oxford and presented their finds to the

Ashmolean Museum The Ashmolean Museum of Art and Archaeology () on Beaumont Street, Oxford, England, is Britain's first public museum. Its first building was erected in 1678–1683 to house the cabinet of curiosities that Elias Ashmole gave to the University of ...

. The Ashmolean's ''Annual Report'' for 1906 said that the pair ''"by incessant watchfulness secured everything of antiquarian value which has been found''". In the summers of 1906 and 1907 Beeson and Lawrence toured France by bicycle, collecting photographs, drawings and measurements of

medieval In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the Post-classical, post-classical period of World history (field), global history. It began with t ...

castles. Beeson made many of the drawings that Lawrence used in his thesis ''The influence of the Crusades on European Military Architecture – to the end of the 12th century'', which was published in 1936 as ''Crusader Castles''. Beeson entered the

University of Oxford , mottoeng = The Lord is my light , established = , endowment = £6.1 billion (including colleges) (2019) , budget = £2.145 billion (2019–20) , chancellor ...

in 1907 to read geology. He was a non-collegiate student until 1908, when he won an

exhibition An exhibition, in the most general sense, is an organized presentation and display of a selection of items. In practice, exhibitions usually occur within a cultural or educational setting such as a museum, art gallery, park, library, exhibition ...

that enabled him to enter St John's College. He graduated in 1910 but then changed disciplines to

forestry Forestry is the science and craft of creating, managing, planting, using, conserving and repairing forests, woodlands, and associated resources for human and environmental benefits. Forestry is practiced in plantations and natural stands. Th ...

, in which he obtained a diploma. He received his MA in 1917 and an Oxford D.Sc. in 1923.

Army service

Beeson was a captain in the

Royal Army Medical Corps The Royal Army Medical Corps (RAMC) is a specialist corps in the British Army which provides medical services to all Army personnel and their families, in war and in peace. The RAMC, the Royal Army Veterinary Corps, the Royal Army Dental Corps a ...

in the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

Forest entomologist

Main Building of the Doon School in 1915

From 1911 until 1941 Beeson worked for the Imperial Forest Service (IFS) as a research officer, forest conservator and forest entomologist. The IFS seconded him to study tropical and forest entomology in London and Germany, after which he first served in the

Punjab Punjab (; Punjabi: پنجاب ; ਪੰਜਾਬ ; ; also romanised as ''Panjāb'' or ''Panj-Āb'') is a geopolitical, cultural, and historical region in South Asia, specifically in the northern part of the Indian subcontinent, comprising ...

. In 1913 he was appointed Forest Zoologist of India. Beeson was closely involved with the development of the Forest Research Institute at

Dehradun Dehradun () is the capital and the most populous city of the Indian state of Uttarakhand. It is the administrative headquarters of the eponymous district and is governed by the Dehradun Municipal Corporation, with the Uttarakhand Legislative As ...

. In 1922 his post was renamed Forest Entomologist. He served in the same position until his retirement in 1941, when he was made a Companion of the

Order of the Indian Empire The Most Eminent Order of the Indian Empire is an order of chivalry founded by Queen Victoria on 1 January 1878. The Order includes members of three classes: #Knight Grand Commander (GCIE) #Knight Commander ( KCIE) #Companion ( CIE) No appoi ...

. Beeson's first book, ''The Ecology and Control of the Forest Insects of India and the Neighbouring Countries'' was published in 1941. It remained the standard work in its field, being republished in 1961 and 1993. Beeson returned to Oxford, where he became Director of the Imperial Forestry Bureau from 1945 to 1947. While he was Director of the IFB, Beeson and his wife moved to

Adderbury Adderbury is a winding linear village and rural civil parish about south of Banbury in northern Oxfordshire, England. The settlement has five sections: the new Milton Road housing Development & West Adderbury towards the southwest; East Adder ...

in North Oxfordshire. The scale insect genus '' Beesonia'' was named after Beeson who collected specimens described by

Edward Ernest Green Edward Ernest Green (20 February 1861–2 July 1949) was an Ceylon-born English mycologist and entomologist who specialised in the scale-insects, Coccidae. An accomplished artist, and lithographer, he illustrated the five volume ''Coccidae of Cey ...

in 1926. It is placed in a family

Beesoniidae Beesoniidae is a family of scale insects commonly known as beesoniids. They typically cause galls on their plant hosts. Members of this family mostly come from southern Asia. When the couple moved to Adderbury, Beeson began to collect antique clocks, many of which originated from Oxfordshire. Beeson turned his scholarly and scientific approach to

horology Horology (; related to Latin '; ; , interfix ''-o-'', and suffix ''-logy''), . is the study of the measurement of time. Clocks, watches, clockwork, sundials, hourglasses, clepsydras, timers, time recorders, marine chronometers, and atomic cl ...

, and in 1953 became a founder member of the

Antiquarian Horological Society The Antiquarian Horological Society, abbreviated to AHS, is the UK-based learned society for scholars and enthusiasts of horology. Its administrative office is at 4 Lovat Lane, a listed building close to the Monument, in the City of London. In earl ...

. He contributed many articles to the AHS's quarterly

academic journal An academic journal or scholarly journal is a periodical publication in which scholarship relating to a particular academic discipline is published. Academic journals serve as permanent and transparent forums for the presentation, scrutiny, and d ...

''Antiquarian Horology'', and edited it for the year 1959–60. Beeson became a published authority on the prominent clockmakers

Joseph Knibb Joseph Knibb (1640–1711) was an English clockmaker of the Restoration era. According to author Herbert Cescinsky, a leading authority on English clocks, Knibb, "next to Tompion, must be regarded as the greatest horologist of his time." Life a ...

(1640–1711) and

John Knibb John Knibb (1650–1722) was an English clockmaker born in Claydon, Oxfordshire. He produced various clocks and watches including bracket clocks, lantern clocks, longcase clocks, and some wall-clocks, as well as building and maintaining several t ...

(1650–1722). Beeson's own collection included five clocks and three watches by John Knibb. He also developed a special interest in

turret clock A turret clock or tower clock is a clock designed to be mounted high in the wall of a building, usually in a clock tower, in public buildings such as churches, university buildings, and town halls. As a public amenity to enable the community ...

s and made an influential study of the clock installed in 1669 at

Wadham College, Oxford Wadham College () is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom. It is located in the centre of Oxford, at the intersection of Broad Street and Parks Road. Wadham College was founded in 1610 by Dorothy W ...

, which he proposed was made by Joseph Knibb. Beeson joined the Banbury Historical Society soon after its foundation in 1958. He was Chairman of the BHS 1959–60 and founding editor of its journal ''Cake and Cockhorse'' 1959–62. In 1962 the AHS and BHS jointly published the first edition of Beeson's

monograph A monograph is a specialist work of writing (in contrast to reference works) or exhibition on a single subject or an aspect of a subject, often by a single author or artist, and usually on a scholarly subject. In library cataloging, ''monograph ...

, ''Clockmaking in Oxfordshire 1400–1850''. In 1924 the

Museum of the History of Science, Oxford The History of Science Museum in Broad Street, Oxford, England, holds a leading collection of scientific instruments from Middle Ages to the 19th century. The museum building is also known as the Old Ashmolean Building to distinguish it from th ...

started a small collection of historic clocks and watches. In 1966 Beeson greatly expanded this by presenting the Museum with his own historic collection, which included 42

longcase clock A grandfather clock (also a longcase clock, tall-case clock, grandfather's clock, or floor clock) is a tall, freestanding, weight-driven pendulum clock with the pendulum held inside the tower or waist of the case. Clocks of this style are common ...

s, 24 other clocks and 13 watches. In 1967 the Museum published a second, enlarged edition of his book ''Clockmaking in Oxfordshire 1400–1850''. In 1971 the Museum published a broader study by Beeson, ''English Church Clocks 1280–1850: History and Classification''. This led the AHS in 1973 to form its turret clock section, of which Beeson became chairman. In 1972

Lord Bullock Alan Louis Charles Bullock, Baron Bullock, (13 December 1914 – 2 February 2004) was a British historian. He is best known for his book '' Hitler: A Study in Tyranny'' (1952), the first comprehensive biography of Adolf Hitler, which influence ...

Vice-Chancellor of the University of Oxford The Vice-Chancellor of the University of Oxford is the chief executive and leader of the University of Oxford. The following people have been vice-chancellors of the University of Oxford (formally known as The Right Worshipful the Vice-Chancel ...

opened the Museum of the History of Science's Beeson Room to house its horological collection. For his final book Beeson returned to one of the castles in France that had interested him and T.E. Lawrence as teenagers. ''Perpignan 1356: The Making of a Tower Clock and Bell for the King's Castle'' is a substantial account of the tower clock and bell made in 1356 for the Palace of the Kings of Majorca at

Perpignan Perpignan (, , ; ca, Perpinyà ; es, Perpiñán ; it, Perpignano ) is the prefecture of the Pyrénées-Orientales department in southern France, in the heart of the plain of Roussillon, at the foot of the Pyrenees a few kilometres from the ...

Published works

Over a period of more than 30 years Beeson published more than 60 scientific articles on tropical forest insects. He also edited the Indian forestry journal. Listed below are only the books that Beeson wrote, including journal articles that were republished as books. * * * * * * *

References

Sources

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Beeson, Cyril 1889 births 1975 deaths Alumni of St John's College, Oxford British Army personnel of World War I Royal Army Medical Corps officers English entomologists Companions of the Order of the Indian Empire Horology English antiquarians Historians of technology Imperial Forestry Service officers Naturalists of British India 20th-century English historians People from Oxford 20th-century British zoologists 20th-century antiquarians