Background
William Beer was born on May 1, 1849, at Plymouth, England, the son of Gabriel and Harriet (Ferguson) Beer.
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William Beer
Edit ProfileEducation
From 1871 to 1877 William was in Paris, where he studied medicine, modern languages, and art, and formed associations with the students. He returned to England in 1877, and accepted, at Newcastle-on-Tyne, a position in a glass manufacturing company, learning many valuable secrets of the art of stained-glass window making. Here, for two years, at the College of Physical Science, he studied mining engineering under Alexander Herschel.
Career
William early developed an interest in libraries, acting as one of the directors of the Cottonian Library at Plymouth, 1869-1871. He was also secretary of the Devon and Cornwall Natural History Society, and, with his friend, J. Burt, discovered a Lake village at Dossmire Pool in Cornwall. From 1871 to 1877 he was in Paris, where he studied medicine, modern languages, and art. He returned to England in 1877, and accepted, at Newcastle-on-Tyne, a position in a glass manufacturing company and studied at the College of Physical Science. Beer became a member of the Newcastle Antiquarian Society, and investigated such subjects as the Roman occupation of Britain, and more especially the Roman wall, in which research he was associated with D. Brun and John Clay of the Chesters.
Beer worked also in the public library of Newcastle, and formed an excellent collection of the literature of Northumberland. In 1884 he went to Canada, but soon after settled in the United States and practised mining engineering in Michigan, Montana, and Wyoming. In 1889 he withdrew from this profession to become librarian of the free public library of Topeka, Kansas. He also organized here a series of extension lectures. Two years later he was made librarian of the Howard Memorial Library of New Orleans, then newly organized by Miss Annie Howard (Mrs. Parrott). In 1896 Beer was also appointed librarian of the New Orleans Free Public Library, then newly formed by consolidating the Fisk Free Library and the Lyceum Library. After organizing this institution, he resigned in 1906 to devote himself exclusively to the Howard Library, which he developed on a broad basis as a reference library, giving particular attention to material connected with Louisiana. At his death, the library contained over 80, 000 volumes, and many valuable manuscripts and maps. Beer was a prominent figure in the social and literary life of New Orleans for many years. He was an intimate friend of George W. Cable, Ruth McEnery Stuart, and Grace King. Until his death he was a member of the Advisory Board of Editors of the Louisiana Historical Quarterly, and contributed frequently to its pages.
Achievements
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William Beer was a well-known librarian of his time who headed the free public library of Topeka, Kansas; the Howard Memorial Library of New Orleans; the New Orleans Free Public Library. Beer was the author of over eighty articles in books, encyclopedias, library and historical journals, including Louisiana Historical Quarterly, Library Journal, Architectural Art and Its Allies, Mississippi Historical Society Publications and American Historical Review.
Membership
William Beer was a member of numerous bibliographic, library and historical societies, including the Newcastle Antiquarian Society and the Advisory Board of Editors of the Louisiana Historical Quarterly, Devon and Cornwall Natural History Society (secretary), Louisiana Historical Society, American Library Association, Bibliographic Society of America, American Folklore Society, Grolier Club of New York, member of Round Table and Pickwick clubs of New Orleans.
Connections
William Beer never married.
