Theodore Beck (4 July 1859 – 2 September 1899Buckland, C. E., ''Dictionary of Indian biography'', 1906) was a Quaker and

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

educationalist working for the

British Raj The British Raj (; from Hindi ''rāj'': kingdom, realm, state, or empire) was the rule of the British Crown on the Indian subcontinent; * * it is also called Crown rule in India, * * * * or Direct rule in India, * Quote: "Mill, who was himsel ...

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

. From 1883 until his death in 1899 he was Principal of

Muhammadan Anglo-Oriental College Muhammadan Anglo-Oriental College ( ur, Madrasatul Uloom Musalmanan-e-Hind, italics=yes) was founded in 1875 by Sir Syed Ahmad Khan, initially as a primary school, with the intention of taking it to a college level institution, known as Muhammed ...

, which later became

Aligarh Muslim University Aligarh Muslim University (abbreviated as AMU) is a Public University, public Central University (India), central university in Aligarh, Uttar Pradesh, India, which was originally established by Sir Syed Ahmad Khan as the Muhammadan Anglo-Orie ...

Early life

Theodore Beck was the son of Joseph Beck (1829-1891), an

optical instrument An optical instrument (or "optic" for short) is a device that processes light waves (or photons), either to enhance an image for viewing or to analyze and determine their characteristic properties. Common examples include periscopes, microscopes ...

manufacturer. Joseph Beck was a member of the Anti-Slavery Society, Treasurer of the Friends War Victims Relief Committee during the Franco-Prussian War, and led the campaign ensuring

Clissold Park Clissold Park is an open space in Stoke Newington, in the London Borough of Hackney. It is bounded by Greenway Close (to the north), Church Street (south), Green Lanes (west) and Queen Elizabeth's Walk (east); the south-east corner abuts St ...

became a public park. Theodore was educated at the

University of London The University of London (UoL; abbreviated as Lond or more rarely Londin in post-nominals) is a federal public research university located in London, England, United Kingdom. The university was established by royal charter in 1836 as a degree ...

and

Trinity College, Cambridge Trinity College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Founded in 1546 by Henry VIII, King Henry VIII, Trinity is one of the largest Cambridge colleges, with the largest financial endowment of any college at either Cambridge ...

., where he was an active member of the ' Apostles', a student society founded by

Frederick Denison Maurice John Frederick Denison Maurice (29 August 1805 – 1 April 1872), known as F. D. Maurice, was an English Anglican theologian, a prolific author, and one of the founders of Christian socialism. Since World War II, interest in Maurice has exp ...

. He gained his Cambridge B.A. in 1883.

Career

Sir Syed Ahmed Khan Sir Syed Ahmad Khan Order of the Star of India, KCSI (17 October 1817 – 27 March 1898; also Sayyid Ahmad Khan) was an Indian people, Indian Muslim Islamic modernist, reformer, philosopher, and educationist in nineteenth-century British ...

asked Beck to be the Principal of the

Aligarh Aligarh (; formerly known as Allygarh, and Kol) is a city in the state of Uttar Pradesh in India. It is the administrative headquarters of Aligarh district, and lies northwest of state capital Lucknow and approximately southeast of the capita ...

after the first Principal,

Henry George Impey Siddons Henry George Impey Siddons (1851 – 18 September 1936) was an Indian educationist. He was born in Indore, India and died on 18 September 1936 at Bath, Somerset, England. Career Siddons was educated at the Oxford University and then he returned ...

, resigned in 1883 due to poor health. He was appointed Principal in 1883, aged only 24, taking charge of the college on 1 February 1864 and serving as Principal until his death in 1899. Beck succeeded

, the first Principal of M.A.O College in

, and served as Principal from 1883 to 1899. He was one of the secretaries of the Mohammedan Defence Association. He was the founder President of

Siddons Union Club Siddons Union Club, commonly referred to as 'The Siddons Union', was established in the year 1884 at Muhammadan Anglo-Oriental College, the present day Aligarh Muslim University. The club was named after Henry George Impey Siddons, the first pri ...

at Muhammadan Anglo-Oriental College in 1884. He edited ''

Aligarh Institute Gazette The ''Aligarh Institute Gazette'' () was the first multilingual journal of India, introduced, edited, and published in 1866 by Sir Syed Ahmed Khan which was read widely across the country. Theodore Beck later became its editor. History In ...

''. After Sir Syed died in 1898, Beck devoted himself to an appeal for a "Sir Syed Memorial fund". He wrote articles, delivered speeches and visited

Allahbad Allahabad (), officially known as Prayagraj, also known as Ilahabad, is a metropolis in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh.The other five cities were: Agra, Kanpur (Cawnpore), Lucknow, Meerut, and Varanasi (Benares). It is the administrat ...

and elsewhere to collect funds for raising a suitable memorial and setting up Sir Syed's dream of a Muslim University. In order to raise MAO College to the status of Muslim University, Beck aimed to collect a sum of Rs. 1,000,000. He succeeded in persuading Englishmen as well as Muslims to contribute: the Viceroy

Lord Elgin Earl of Elgin is a title in the Peerage of Scotland, created in 1633 for Thomas Bruce, 3rd Lord Kinloss. He was later created Baron Bruce, of Whorlton in the County of York, in the Peerage of England on 30 July 1641. The Earl of Elgin is the h ...

contributed Rs. 2,000. However, Beck's own health began to fail as he worked upon the appeal. Though he moved to

Simla Shimla (; ; also known as Simla, the official name until 1972) is the capital and the largest city of the northern Indian state of Himachal Pradesh. In 1864, Shimla was declared as the summer capital of British India. After independence, the ...

to recuperate, he died there on 2 September 1899. After he died his younger sister Emma Josephine Beck returned to Britain where she became the secretary of the

National Indian Association :Should not be confused with the Indian National Association The National Indian Association was formed in Bristol by Mary Carpenter. The London branch was formed the following year. After the death of Mary Carpenter, Elizabeth Adelaide Manning ...

.E.J.Beck
Open University, Retrieved 28 July 2015

Beck manzil

Old Boys living at

Meerut Meerut (, IAST: ''Meraṭh'') is a city in Meerut district of the western part of the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. The city lies northeast of the national capital New Delhi, within the National Capital Region and west of the state capital ...

held a meeting on 10 September 1899 and decided to raise a fund to commemorate Beck's memory. They collected a sum of Rs. 465/- on the spot, and the Beck Fund eventually amounted to Rs. 6,000/-. The money was used to build the hall adjacent to the Lytton Library, which was named "Beck Manzil".

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Beck, Theodore 1859 births 1899 deaths Heads of universities and colleges in India British educational theorists Alumni of the University of London Alumni of Trinity College, Cambridge Presidents of the Cambridge Union Aligarh Muslim University faculty