Hugh Beaver

Sir
Hugh Beaver
KBE
Sir Hugh Beaver KBE
Born	Hugh Eyre Campbell Beaver; 4 May 1890; Johannesburg, South Africa
Died	16 January 1967 (aged 76); London, England
Resting place	Holy Trinity Church, Penn Street
Nationality	English, South African
Alma mater	Wellington College, Berkshire
Occupation(s)	Engineer, industrialist
Years active	1931–1960
Board member of	The Guinness Book of World Records,; Guinness Brewery

Sir Hugh Eyre Campbell Beaver, KBE (4 May 1890 – 16 January 1967)^[1] was an English-South African civil engineer, industrialist and bureaucrat, who founded the Guinness World Records (then known as Guinness Book of Records).^[2]^[3]^[4]^[5]^[6]^[7] He was Director-General of the Ministry of Works and managing director at Guinness Brewery.

Biography

Beaver was born on 4 May 1890 in Johannesburg, South Africa. He was educated at Wellington College, Berkshire.^[8]

Beaver spent two years in the Indian police from 1910 and returned to England in 1921, joining the civil engineering firm Sir Alexander Gibb & Partners, as the personal assistant of Sir Alexander Gibb. Upon the request of Canadian Prime Minister R. B. Bennett, he led a mission to Canada developing Canadian harbours. He directed the reconstruction of the harbour of Saint John in New Brunswick after it was destroyed by a fire in 1931. He then became partner at Sir Alexander Gibb & Partners, and worked mainly on factory building and the re-industrialisation of depressed areas in the UK.^[8]

During World War II he was Director-General in the newly formed Ministry of Works, and was in charge of the whole wartime programme of works.^[8]

Beaver was knighted in 1943. After the war, he was a member of the New Towns Committee.^[8]

At Guinness

Beaver joined Arthur Guinness Son & Co. (Guinness Brewery) in 1945 as assistant managing director. He was appointed managing director in November 1946. The brewery was modernised and the company's interests were widened under his direction.^[8]

Air pollution work and later life

After the Great Smog of 1952 Beaver was appointed as chair of the Committee on Air Pollution, known as the Beaver Committee, investigating the severe air pollution problem in London.^[9] In 1954 the committee reported results which led to effective action, in part due to a shift in public opinion.^[10]

He was Chairman of the Committee on Power Station Construction between 1952–1953, Chairman of the British Institute of Management between 1951–1954, Chairman of the Advisory Council of the Department of Scientific and Industrial Research between 1954–1956, and President of the Federation of British Industries in 1957. He was also Director of the Colonial Development Corporation.^[8]

Beaver was made Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire in 1956.^[8]

He was President of the Royal Statistical Society between 1959–1960.^[11]

Beaver died of heart failure in London, United Kingdom on 16 January 1967.^[12]

Honours

Knight Bachelor (1943)
Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire (1956)

References

^ "OBITUARY. Sir HUGH EYRE CAMBELL BEAUER, KBE, LLD, 1890-1967". Proceedings of the Institution of Civil Engineers. 38 (4): 827–828. 1 December 1967. doi:10.1680/iicep.1967.8212.
^ Heyworth (1 January 1967). "Sir Hugh Beaver, K.B.E". Journal of the Royal Statistical Society. Series A (General). 130 (4): 594. JSTOR 2982546.
^ "Guinness Book of Records". Archived from the original on 1 July 2007. Retrieved 6 February 2016.
^ Richard Cavendish (August 2005). "Publication of the Guinness Book of Records: August 27th, 1955". History Today. 55.
^ "Guinness Book History 1950 - Present". Archived from the original on 13 May 2006. Retrieved 8 May 2023.
^ "BEAVER, Sir Hugh Eyre Campbell 1890-1967 Knight engineer and industrialist - Archives Hub". archiveshub.jisc.ac.uk. Retrieved 30 July 2020.
^ Strutt, Peter. "Sir Hugh Eyre Campbell Beaver KBE | History, Monuments and Memorials of Penn". Retrieved 30 July 2020.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g "Presidents - Sir Hugh Beaver KBE: 1957—1959". Institution of Chemical Engineers. Archived from the original on 23 December 2022. Retrieved 23 December 2022.
^ Sheail, John (2002). An Environmental History of Twentieth-Century Britain. Basingstoke: Palgrave. pp. 247–8. ISBN 9780333949818.
^ Florman, Samuel C. (1994). The existential pleasures of engineering (2nd ed.). New York: St. Martin's Griffin. p. 40. ISBN 978-0-312-14104-2.
^ "Royal Statistical Society Presidents". Royal Statistical Society. Archived from the original on 17 March 2012. Retrieved 6 August 2010.
^ "Sir Hugh Eyre Campbell Beaver KBE". History, Monuments and Memorials of Holy Trinity, Penn Street. Archived from the original on 22 December 2022. Retrieved 23 December 2022.

External links

History of the Guinness World Records - Official Site
Catalogue of the papers of Sir Hugh Beaver at London School of Economics Archives
Portrait at the National Portrait gallery

[1] "OBITUARY. Sir HUGH EYRE CAMBELL BEAUER, KBE, LLD, 1890-1967". Proceedings of the Institution of Civil Engineers. 38 (4): 827–828. 1 December 1967. doi:10.1680/iicep.1967.8212.

[2] Heyworth (1 January 1967). "Sir Hugh Beaver, K.B.E". Journal of the Royal Statistical Society. Series A (General). 130 (4): 594. JSTOR 2982546.

[3] "Guinness Book of Records". Archived from the original on 1 July 2007. Retrieved 6 February 2016.

[Cavendish2005-4] Richard Cavendish (August 2005). "Publication of the Guinness Book of Records: August 27th, 1955". History Today. 55.

[5] "Guinness Book History 1950 - Present". Archived from the original on 13 May 2006. Retrieved 8 May 2023.

[6] "BEAVER, Sir Hugh Eyre Campbell 1890-1967 Knight engineer and industrialist - Archives Hub". archiveshub.jisc.ac.uk. Retrieved 30 July 2020.

[7] Strutt, Peter. "Sir Hugh Eyre Campbell Beaver KBE | History, Monuments and Memorials of Penn". Retrieved 30 July 2020.

[:0-8] ^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g "Presidents - Sir Hugh Beaver KBE: 1957—1959". Institution of Chemical Engineers. Archived from the original on 23 December 2022. Retrieved 23 December 2022.

[9] Sheail, John (2002). An Environmental History of Twentieth-Century Britain. Basingstoke: Palgrave. pp. 247–8. ISBN 9780333949818.

[10] Florman, Samuel C. (1994). The existential pleasures of engineering (2nd ed.). New York: St. Martin's Griffin. p. 40. ISBN 978-0-312-14104-2.

[11] "Royal Statistical Society Presidents". Royal Statistical Society. Archived from the original on 17 March 2012. Retrieved 6 August 2010.

[12] "Sir Hugh Eyre Campbell Beaver KBE". History, Monuments and Memorials of Holy Trinity, Penn Street. Archived from the original on 22 December 2022. Retrieved 23 December 2022.

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v t e Presidents of the Royal Statistical Society
19th century	1834–1836 The Marquess of Lansdowne 1836–1838 Sir Charles Lemon, Bt 1838–1840 The Earl FitzWilliam 1840–1842 Viscount Sandon 1842–1843 The Marquess of Lansdowne 1843–1845 Lord Ashley 1845–1847 The Lord Monteagle of Brandon 1847–1849 The Earl FitzWilliam 1849–1851 The Earl of Harrowby 1851–1853 The Lord Overstone 1853–1855 The Earl FitzWilliam 1855–1857 The Earl of Harrowby 1857–1859 Lord Stanley 1859–1861 Lord John Russell 1861–1863 Sir John Pakington, Bt 1863–1865 William Henry Sykes 1865–1867 The Lord Houghton 1867–1869 William Ewart Gladstone 1869–1871 William Newmarch 1871–1873 William Farr 1873–1875 William Guy 1875–1877 James Heywood 1877–1879 George Shaw-Lefevre 1879–1880 Thomas Brassey 1880–1882 James Caird 1882–1884 Robert Giffen 1884–1886 Rawson W. Rawson 1886–1888 George Goschen 1888–1890 Thomas Graham Balfour 1890–1892 Frederic J. Mouat 1892–1894 Charles Booth 1894–1896 The Lord Farrer 1896–1897 John Biddulph Martin 1897 Alfred Edmund Bateman 1897–1899 Leonard Courtney 1899–1900 Henry Fowler 1900–1902 The Lord Avebury
20th century	1902–1904 Patrick George Craigie 1904–1905 Sir Francis Powell, Bt 1905–1906 The Earl of Onslow 1906–1907 Richard Martin 1907–1909 Sir Charles Dilke, Bt 1909–1910 Jervoise Athelstane Baines 1910–1912 Lord George Hamilton 1912–1914 Francis Ysidro Edgeworth 1914–1915 The Lord Welby 1915–1916 Lord George Hamilton 1916–1918 Bernard Mallet, Registrar General 1918–1920 Herbert Samuel 1920–1922 R. Henry Rew 1922–1924 The Lord Emmott 1924–1926 Udny Yule 1926–1928 The Viscount D'Abernon 1928–1930 A. William Flux 1930–1932 Sir Josiah Stamp 1932–1934 The Lord Meston 1934–1936 Major Greenwood 1936–1938 The Lord Kennet 1938–1940 Arthur Lyon Bowley 1940–1941 Henry William Macrosty 1941 Hector Leak 1941–1943 William Beveridge 1943–1945 Ernest Charles Snow 1945–1947 The Lord Woolton 1947–1949 David Heron 1949–1950 Sir Geoffrey Heyworth 1950–1952 Austin Bradford Hill 1952–1954 Ronald Fisher 1954–1955 The Lord Piercy 1955–1957 Egon Pearson 1957–1959 Harry Campion 1959–1960 Hugh Beaver 1960–1962 Maurice Kendall 1962–1964 Joseph Oscar Irwin 1964–1965 Sir Paul Chambers 1965–1966 L. H. C. Tippett 1966–1967 M. S. Bartlett 1967–1968 Frank Yates 1968–1969 Arthur Cockfield 1969–1970 R. G. D. Allen 1970–1971 Bernard Benjamin 1971–1972 George Alfred Barnard 1972–1973 Harold Wilson 1973–1974 D. J. Finney 1974–1975 Henry Daniels 1975–1977 Stella Cunliffe 1977–1978 Henry Wynn 1978–1980 Sir Claus Moser 1980–1982 David Cox 1982–1984 Peter Armitage 1984–1985 Walter Bodmer 1985–1986 John Nelder 1986–1987 James Durbin 1987–1989 John Kingman 1989–1991 Peter G. Moore 1991–1993 T. M. F. Smith 1993–1995 D. J. Bartholomew 1995–1997 Adrian Smith 1997–1999 Robert Nicholas Curnow 1999–2001 Denise Lievesley
21st century	2001–2003 Peter Green 2003–2005 Andy Grieve 2005–2007 Tim Holt 2008–2009 David Hand 2010–2010 Bernard Silverman (resigned Feb 2010; replaced pro tem by David Hand) 2011–2012 Valerie Isham 2013–2014 John Pullinger 2014–2016 Peter Diggle 2017–2018 David Spiegelhalter 2019– Deborah Ashby
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