James Camlin Beckett (8 February 1912 – 12 February 1996) was a Northern Irish historian.Richard Froggatt,
James Camlin Beckett (1912–1996)
, ''Dictionary of Ulster Biography''.

Early life

Beckett was a native of

Belfast Belfast ( , ; from ga, Béal Feirste , meaning 'mouth of the sand-bank ford') is the capital and largest city of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan on the east coast. It is the 12th-largest city in the United Kingdo ...

, where he received his education at the

Royal Belfast Academical Institution The Royal Belfast Academical Institution is an independent grammar school in Belfast, Northern Ireland. With the support of Belfast's leading reformers and democrats, it opened its doors in 1814. Until 1849, when it was superseded by what today is ...

(where he was a contemporary of R. B. McDowell) and Queen's University.Alvin Jackson, 'J. C. Beckett: Politics, Faith, Scholarship' ''Irish Historical Studies'' Vol. 33, No. 130 (Nov., 2002), p. 132. He initially read English literature before transferring to Modern History and in 1934 he graduated with First Class Honours.

A. T. Q. Stewart Anthony Terence Quincey Stewart (8 July 192916 December 2010), known professionally as A. T. Q. Stewart or Tony Stewart, was a Northern Irish historian, teacher and academic, and a best-selling author on the subject of the politics of Ulster and N ...

, 'James Camlin Beckett 1912-1996', ''History Ireland'', Vol. 4, No. 2 (Summer, 1996), pp. 5-6.

Academic career

After his graduation he taught at

Belfast Royal Academy The Belfast Royal Academy (commonly shortened to ) is the oldest school in the city of Belfast, Northern Ireland. It is a co-educational, non-denominational voluntary grammar school in north Belfast. The Academy is one of 8 schools in Northern ...

and completed an MA degree under the supervision of

T. W. Moody Theodore William Moody (26 November 1907 – 11 February 1984) was a historian from Belfast, Northern Ireland. Background Early life Moody was born in Belfast, to a poor family who made their living from dressmaking and iron turning and wa ...

. His MA dissertation was published by Faber under the title ''Protestant Dissent in Ireland 1687–1780'' and was the second volume in the 'Studies in Irish History' series, of which Moody was co-editor. In 1945 he joined the history faculty of Queen's University, where he was to spend the majority of his career. Initially a lecturer, he received promotion to a readership in 1952. During 1955–56 he was a Fellow Commoner at

Peterhouse, Cambridge Peterhouse is the oldest constituent college of the University of Cambridge in England, founded in 1284 by Hugh de Balsham, Bishop of Ely. Today, Peterhouse has 254 undergraduates, 116 full-time graduate students and 54 fellows. It is quite ...

. In 1958 Queen's University awarded him a personal chair in Irish history, which he held until he retired in 1975 and assumed

emeritus ''Emeritus'' (; female: ''emerita'') is an adjective used to designate a retired chair, professor, pastor, bishop, pope, director, president, prime minister, rabbi, emperor, or other person who has been "permitted to retain as an honorary title ...

status. Beckett was also the Cummings Lecturer at

McGill University McGill University (french: link=no, Université McGill) is an English-language public research university located in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Founded in 1821 by royal charter granted by King George IV,Frost, Stanley Brice. ''McGill Universit ...

in 1976 and the Mellon Professor at

Tulane University Tulane University, officially the Tulane University of Louisiana, is a private university, private research university in New Orleans, Louisiana. Founded as the Medical College of Louisiana in 1834 by seven young medical doctors, it turned into ...

in 1977. He was awarded an honorary degree of Doctor of Literature by the

University of Ulster sco, Ulstèr Universitie , image = Ulster University coat of arms.png , caption = , motto_lang = , mottoeng = , latin_name = Universitas Ulidiae , established = 1865 – Magee College 1953 - Magee Un ...

, the

National University of Ireland The National University of Ireland (NUI) ( ga, Ollscoil na hÉireann) is a federal university system of ''constituent universities'' (previously called ''university college, constituent colleges'') and ''recognised colleges'' set up under t ...

and Queen's University. Beckett served on the Royal Commission on Historical Documents from 1960 until 1986. ''The Making of Modern Ireland'', published in 1966, is considered his master-work and it became a standard textbook in schools and colleges. The book was groundbreaking in that it presented the findings of a critical generation of Irish historians and was, according to David Quinn, "not only learned but cool, objective, unimpassioned and yet always alive and compassionate as well". He was a member of the

Church of Ireland The Church of Ireland ( ga, Eaglais na hÉireann, ; sco, label= Ulster-Scots, Kirk o Airlann, ) is a Christian church in Ireland and an autonomous province of the Anglican Communion. It is organised on an all-Ireland basis and is the second ...

.Alvin Jackson, 'J. C. Beckett: Politics, Faith, Scholarship', p. 141.

Works

*''Protestant Dissent in Ireland, 1687–1780'' (1948). *''A Short History of Ireland'' (1952). *''Ulster since 1800: A Political and Economic Survey'' (1954). *''Ulster since 1800: A Social Survey'' (1957). *''Queen's, Belfast 1845–1949: The History of a University'' (with T. W. Moody, 1959). *''The Making of Modern Ireland'' (1966). *''Belfast: Origins and Growth of an Industrial City'' (1967). * ''The Ulster Debate: Report of a Study Group of the Institute for the Study of Conflict'' (1972), with

Brian Crozier Brian Rossiter Crozier (4 August 1918, in Shire of Cloncurry, Queensland – 4 August 2012) was a historian, propagandist and journalist. He was also one of the central staff members of a secret propaganda department belonging to the UK Fo ...

and

Robert Moss Robert Moss, born in Melbourne (Victoria) in 1946, is an Australian historian, journalist and author and the creator of Active Dreaming, an original synthesis of dreamwork and shamanism. Biography Early life and education Moss survived severa ...

. London:

The Bodley Head The Bodley Head is an English publishing house, founded in 1887 and existing as an independent entity until the 1970s. The name was used as an imprint of Random House Children's Books from 1987 to 2008. In April 2008, it was revived as an adul ...

for the Institute for the Study of Conflict. . *''The Anglo-Irish Tradition'' (1976) *''The Cavalier Duke: A Life of James Butler, 1st Duke of Ormond, 1610–1688'' (1990).

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Beckett, J. C. 1912 births 1996 deaths Historians from Northern Ireland Writers from Belfast 20th-century Irish historians 20th-century British male writers 20th-century British writers Male non-fiction writers from Northern Ireland