John Beddoe
FRS FRAI (21 September 1826 – 19 July 1911) was one of the most prominent English
ethnologist
Ethnology (from the grc-gre, ἔθνος, meaning 'nation') is an academic field that compares and analyzes the characteristics of different peoples and the relationships between them (compare cultural, social, or sociocultural anthropology) ...
s in
Victorian Britain
In the history of the United Kingdom and the British Empire, the Victorian era was the period of Queen Victoria's reign, from 20 June 1837 until her death on 22 January 1901. The era followed the Georgian period and preceded the Edwardia ...
.
Life
Beddoe was born in
Bewdley
Bewdley ( pronunciation) is a town and civil parish in the Wyre Forest District in Worcestershire, England on the banks of the River Severn. It is in the Severn Valley west of Kidderminster and southwest of Birmingham. It lies on the Riv ...
,
Worcestershire
Worcestershire ( , ; written abbreviation: Worcs) is a county in the West Midlands of England. The area that is now Worcestershire was absorbed into the unified Kingdom of England in 927, at which time it was constituted as a county (see His ...
, and educated at
University College, London
, mottoeng = Let all come who by merit deserve the most reward
, established =
, type = Public research university
, endowment = £143 million (2020)
, budget = Â ...
(BA (London)) and
Edinburgh University
The University of Edinburgh ( sco, University o Edinburgh, gd, Oilthigh Dhùn Èideann; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in post-nominals) is a public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Granted a royal charter by King James VI in 1582 ...
(M.D. 1853). He served in the
Crimean War
The Crimean War, , was fought from October 1853 to February 1856 between Russia and an ultimately victorious alliance of the Ottoman Empire, France, the United Kingdom and Piedmont-Sardinia.
Geopolitical causes of the war included the de ...
alongside
David Christison and was a physician at
Bristol Royal Infirmary
The Bristol Royal Infirmary, also known as the BRI, is a large teaching hospital situated in the centre of Bristol, England. It has links with the nearby University of Bristol and the Faculty of Health and Social Care at the University of the Wes ...
from 1862 to 1873. He and his wife were both friends with
Mary Carpenter
Mary Carpenter (3 April 1807 – 14 June 1877) was an English educational and social reformer. The daughter of a Unitarian minister, she founded a ragged school and reformatories, bringing previously unavailable educational opportunitie ...
and they hosted what was said to be the first women's suffrage meeting in 1868. Invitees included a young
Annie Leigh Browne
Annie Leigh Browne (14 March 1851 – 8 March 1936) was a United Kingdom educationist and suffragist. She co-founded College Hall, London, and funded and worked to get women elected to local government.
Life
Browne was born in Bridgwater in 185 ...
.
Beddoe retired from practice in
Bristol
Bristol () is a city, ceremonial county and unitary authority in England. Situated on the River Avon, it is bordered by the ceremonial counties of Gloucestershire to the north and Somerset to the south. Bristol is the most populous city in ...
in 1891.
He was elected a
Fellow of the Royal Society
Fellowship of the Royal Society (FRS, ForMemRS and HonFRS) is an award granted by the judges of the Royal Society of London to individuals who have made a "substantial contribution to the improvement of natural science, natural knowledge, incl ...
in 1873. In 1887 he was elected a member of the American Antiquarian Society. He was a founder of the
Ethnological Society and president of the
Anthropological Institute from 1889 to 1891.
He died at
Bradford-on-Avon
Bradford-on-Avon (sometimes Bradford on Avon or Bradford upon Avon) is a town and civil parish in west Wiltshire, England, near the border with Somerset, which had a population of 9,402 at the 2011 census. The town's canal, historic buildings, s ...
on 19 July 1911. He is buried in the northern section of
Dean Cemetery
The Dean Cemetery is a historically important Victorian cemetery north of the Dean Village, west of Edinburgh city centre, in Scotland. It lies between Queensferry Road and the Water of Leith, bounded on its east side by Dean Path and on ...
in
Edinburgh
Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian ...
towards the western end.
Family
In 1858, he married Agnes Montgomerie Cameron (d.1914), granddaughter of Prof
Alexander Christison and niece of
Robert Christison
Sir Robert Christison, 1st Baronet, (18 July 1797 – 27 January 1882) was a Scottish toxicologist and physician who served as president of the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh (1838–40 and 1846-8) and as president of the British ...
. She was the sister of his friend Dr
David Christison. He and his wife had a son and a daughter.
Works
Beddoe was a pioneer in making observations of living people, in particular of their hair and eye colours, which he believed to be valuable evidence of the origins of the British people. His essay ''The Origin of the English Nation'' won a prize offered by the Welsh National Eisteddfod in 1867. This was later expanded and published in 1885 as ''Races of Britain''.
Beddoe gave the
Rhind Lectures in 1891, on 'The Anthropological History of Europe'.
Notes
References
*
*
*
*''The Races of Britain: A Contribution to the Anthropology of Western Europe'', Bristol and London, John Beddoe, J. W. Arrowsmith, Bristol & Trübnermm, London, 1885; republished by Hutchinson, London, 1971, .
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Beddoe, John
1826 births
1911 deaths
People from Bewdley
English anthropologists
Biological anthropology
Historical definitions of race
Fellows of the Royal Society
Fellows of the Ethnological Society of London
English suffragists
Members of the American Antiquarian Society
Presidents of the Royal Anthropological Institute of Great Britain and Ireland
Fellows of the Royal Anthropological Institute of Great Britain and Ireland