William Beebe

Beebe was the Bronx Zoo’s first Curator of Birds. In 1916 he established a field station in British Guiana. The Department of Tropical Research subsequently brought scientists and artists together to investigate tropical terrestrial and marine habitats and the lives of animals within them.

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Beginning in 1930, Beebe and the Bathysphere’s engineer Otis Barton conducted dives off Bermuda. On 15 August 1934 they reached 3,028 feet. The craft allowed observations through a window in the sea, complementing studies of specimens retrieved by nets.

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Beebe described his observations by telephone to Gloria Hollister aboard the support ship. Else Bostelmann used these notes and further descriptions to produce illustrations of creatures she had not herself seen from the sphere. These reconstructed images circulated through scientific publications, books and exhibitions.

References: [1]