William Humphrey Beik (1941–2017) was an American professor of French history, specialising in early modern France. Beik's father, Paul Beik, was a professor of history at

Swarthmore College Swarthmore College ( , ) is a Private college, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Swarthmore, Pennsylvania. Founded in 1864, with its first classes held in 1869, Swarthmore is one of the earliest coeduca ...

who carried out research on the French Revolution, so that William was partially educated in France. William took degrees from

Haverford College Haverford College ( ) is a private liberal arts college in Haverford, Pennsylvania. It was founded as a men's college in 1833 by members of the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers), began accepting non-Quakers in 1849, and became coeducational ...

(B.A. 1963) and

Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher le ...

(M.A. 1966; Ph.D. 1969). From 1968 to 1990 he taught at

Northern Illinois University Northern Illinois University (NIU) is a public research university in DeKalb, Illinois. It was founded as Northern Illinois State Normal School on May 22, 1895, by Illinois Governor John P. Altgeld as part of an expansion of the state's system ...

, and in 1990 became Professor of French History at

Emory University Emory University is a private research university in Atlanta, Georgia. Founded in 1836 as "Emory College" by the Methodist Episcopal Church and named in honor of Methodist bishop John Emory, Emory is the second-oldest private institution of ...

, retiring in 2007. His ''Absolutism and Society in Seventeenth-Century France'' (1985) received the

American Historical Association The American Historical Association (AHA) is the oldest professional association of historians in the United States and the largest such organization in the world. Founded in 1884, the AHA works to protect academic freedom, develop professional s ...

Herbert Baxter Adams Prize The Herbert Baxter Adams Prize is an annual book prize of the American Historical Association. It is awarded for "a distinguished first book by a young scholar in the field of European history", and is named in honor of Herbert Baxter Adams, who wa ...

. He died in Pittsburgh on 31 August 2017.''

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette The ''Pittsburgh Post-Gazette'', also known simply as the PG, is the largest newspaper serving metropolitan Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Descended from the ''Pittsburgh Gazette'', established in 1786 as the first newspaper published west of the All ...

'', Sept. 6, 2017.

Works

* "Magistrates and Popular Uprisings in France before the

Fronde The Fronde () was a series of civil wars in France between 1648 and 1653, occurring in the midst of the Franco-Spanish War, which had begun in 1635. King Louis XIV confronted the combined opposition of the princes, the nobility, the law cour ...

: The Case of Toulouse," ''

Journal of Modern History ''The Journal of Modern History'' is a quarterly peer-reviewed academic journal covering European intellectual, political, and cultural history, published by the University of Chicago Press. Established in 1929, the journal covers events from appro ...

'', 46 (December 1974): 585-608. * ''Absolutism and Society in Seventeenth-Century France'' (1985) * ''Urban Protest in Seventeenth-Century France'' (1997) * ''Louis XIV and Absolutism'' (2000) * ''A Social and Cultural History of Early Modern France'' (2009)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Beik, William 1941 births 2017 deaths 20th-century American historians American male non-fiction writers Emory University faculty Northern Illinois University faculty Haverford College alumni Harvard University alumni Historians of France 20th-century American male writers