William Gerald Beasley (22 December 1919 – 19 November 2006) was a British academic, author, editor, translator and
Japanologist. He was Emeritus Professor of the History of the Far East at the
School of Oriental and African Studies of
London University
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 ...
.
[Nish, Ian and Peter Lowe]
"Professor W. G. Beasley, Historian who advanced the study of Japan in British universities,"
''The Independent'' (UK). 4 December 2006; retrieved 2011-05-23
Early years
Beasley was born in
Hanwell
Hanwell () is a town in the London Borough of Ealing, in the historic County of Middlesex, England. It is about 1.5 miles west of Ealing Broadway and had a population of 28,768 as of 2011. It is the westernmost location of the London post t ...
, Middlesex, to Helena May Chalk (1886–1962) and William Beasley (originally Beesley; 1882–1961), who was an actor who had spent the years of the
First World War interned in a camp near
Groningen
Groningen (; gos, Grunn or ) is the capital city and main municipality of Groningen province in the Netherlands. The ''capital of the north'', Groningen is the largest place as well as the economic and cultural centre of the northern part of t ...
, in the Netherlands. Owing to his father's work, he grew up in
Aberdeen
Aberdeen (; sco, Aiberdeen ; gd, Obar Dheathain ; la, Aberdonia) is a city in North East Scotland, and is the third most populous city in the country. Aberdeen is one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas (as Aberdeen City), and ...
and in various towns in England, including
Brackley
Brackley is a market town and civil parish in West Northamptonshire, England, bordering Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire, from Oxford and from Northampton. Historically a market town based on the wool and lace trade, it was built on the inters ...
, Northamptonshire, where he attended
Magdalen College School on a scholarship. In 1937, he began his university studies of history at
Westminster College, a teacher-training college attached to the
University of London which moved to Oxford in 1959. On the outbreak of war, he, with many others arts students at London, was evacuated to
Aberystwyth
Aberystwyth () is a university and seaside town as well as a community in Ceredigion, Wales. Located in the historic county of Cardiganshire, means "the mouth of the Ystwyth". Aberystwyth University has been a major educational location i ...
. In June 1940 he graduated and he was free to begin his military service.
[William G. Beasley, ''Traveller to Japan: incomplete and unreliable recollections of my life'' (typescript dated 2002).]
Wartime and postwar service
Beasley had expressed a preference for the
Royal Navy
The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against ...
and thus reported to
Devonport on 4 November 1940 to join HMS ''Impregnable'' for his initial training as a telegraphist; he was the only graduate amongst the men on the course. In January 1941 he was recommended for a commission and in preparation was assigned to the destroyer as an ordinary seaman. In May 1941 the ship was involved in the hunt for the
German battleship ''Bismarck'' and was present at
the sinking. Later that year the ''Tartar'' was at work in the Arctic and then in August escorted the battleship to
Newfoundland for
Winston Churchill's meeting with President
Franklin D. Roosevelt
Franklin Delano Roosevelt (; ; January 30, 1882April 12, 1945), often referred to by his initials FDR, was an American politician and attorney who served as the 32nd president of the United States from 1933 until his death in 1945. As th ...
. In November he left the ''Tartar'' for officer training at in Hove, where he heard of the Japanese
attack on Pearl Harbor
The attack on Pearl HarborAlso known as the Battle of Pearl Harbor was a surprise military strike by the Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service upon the United States against the naval base at Pearl Harbor in Honolulu, Territory of Hawaii, ju ...
. He then became a Temporary Sub Lieutenant in the
Royal Naval Reserve and early in 1942 fulfilled various administrative posts related to signalling in
Newhaven and
Dartmouth.
One day in 1943 he found on his desk an
Admiralty
Admiralty most often refers to:
*Admiralty, Hong Kong
*Admiralty (United Kingdom), military department in command of the Royal Navy from 1707 to 1964
*The rank of admiral
*Admiralty law
Admiralty can also refer to:
Buildings
* Admiralty, Traf ...
circular calling for volunteers to learn Japanese in the United States. In September 1943 he sailed from Liverpool in order to make his way to the US Navy Language School at
Boulder
In geology, a boulder (or rarely bowlder) is a rock fragment with size greater than in diameter. Smaller pieces are called cobbles and pebbles. While a boulder may be small enough to move or roll manually, others are extremely massive.
In c ...
, Colorado, where he did a 14-month course in Japanese. In spring 1945, when he had finished the course and had undergone some further training in
Vancouver and
New York
New York most commonly refers to:
* New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York
* New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States
New York may also refer to:
Film and television
* ...
, he flew to
Australia, where he was attached to the
Allied Translator and Interpreter Section The Allied Translator and Interpreter Section (ATIS), also known as the Allied Translator and Interpreter Service or Allied Translator and Intelligence Service, was a joint Australian/ American World War II intelligence agency which served as a cent ...
and was required to make his way to
Manila, where he interrogated Japanese prisoners. He was then ordered to join the British battleship but before he reached the ship he heard of the dropping of the atomic bombs. When the ''King George V'' entered Tokyo Bay for the surrender ceremony, which took place on the deck of on 2 September 1945, Beasley had to act as interpreter when a Japanese pilot came on board.
After the surrender ceremony Beasley went ashore as British naval intelligence liaison officer at US naval headquarters in
Yokosuka. He was subsequently posted to the Naval Intelligence Section of the UK Liaison Mission in Tokyo, which represented British interests until diplomatic relations were restored in 1952. In March 1946 he was recalled to Britain and his naval career was over.
Career
In 1946 Beasley returned to Westminster College to work on an MA in history but by summer 1947 he had decided that he did not want to be a school teacher. He wrote his thesis on the history of Anglo-Japanese relations for what had now become a PhD. In October 1947 Beasley accepted a part-time post lecturing in Japanese history and in October 1948 he was appointed Lecturer in Far Eastern History at the
School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS). He completed his PhD in 1950 and later that year returned to Japan on study leave for a year. While there he worked at the
Historiographical Institute of the University of Tokyo
The is a research institution affiliated with the University of Tokyo that is devoted to the analysis, compilation, and publication of historical source materials concerning Japan. Since its foundation in 1869, the Institute has been a major cen ...
. In 1954 he became Professor of the History of the Far East, a post that he held until he retired in 1983.
Personal life
In April 1955 Beasley married Hazel Polwin.
Selected works
In a statistical overview derived from writings by and about William G. Beasley,
OCLC/
WorldCat encompasses roughly 80+ works in 300+ publications in 8 languages and 11,000+ library holdings.
* ''Great Britain and the Opening of Japan, 1834-1858'' (1951)
* ''Select Documents on Japanese Foreign Policy, 1853-1868'' (1955)
* ''Historians of China and Japan'' (1961)
* ''The modern history of Japan'' (1963)
* ''The Meiji Restoration'' (1972). Winner
John K. Fairbank Prize
* ''Modern Japan: Aspects of History, Literature, and Society'' (1975)
* ''Japanese Imperialism, 1894-1945'' (1987)
* ''The Rise of Modern Japan'' (1989)
* ''Japan Encounters the Barbarian: Japanese Travellers in America and Europe'' (1995)
* ''The Japanese experience : a short history of Japan'' (1999)
Honours and awards
*
British Academy
The British Academy is the United Kingdom's national academy for the humanities and the social sciences.
It was established in 1902 and received its royal charter in the same year. It is now a fellowship of more than 1,000 leading scholars span ...
, 1967.
[Sims, Richard]
"Obituary: William Beasley, Historian of the Meiji Restoration and the end of Japan's isolation,"
''Guardian'' (UK). 15 December 2006; retrieved 2011-05-23
*
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 ...
,
John K. Fairbank
John King Fairbank (May 24, 1907 – September 14, 1991) was an American historian of China and United States–China relations. He taught at Harvard University from 1936 until his retirement in 1977. He is credited with building the field of Chi ...
Prize, 1972.
*
Order of the British Empire, Commander (
CBE
The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations,
and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...
), 1980.
*
Order of the Rising Sun, Gold Rays with Neck Ribbon, 1983.
*
Japan Academy, honorary member, 1984.
*
Japan Foundation Award
The Japan Foundation Awards honor individuals and organizations for significant contributions to "the enhancement of mutual understanding between Japan and other countries."
History
Activities in an academic or cultural field have been presented ...
, 2001.
Japan Foundation
/ref>
Notes
1919 births
2006 deaths
British Japanologists
Academics of SOAS University of London
Historians of Japan
Fellows of the British Academy
Commanders of the Order of the British Empire
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