Calvin Lunsford Beale (June 6, 1923 – September 2, 2008) was an American

demographer Demography () is the statistical study of human populations: their size, composition (e.g., ethnic group, age), and how they change through the interplay of fertility (births), mortality (deaths), and migration. Demographic analysis examine ...

who specialized in rural demographic trends. He first identified a reverse in

population decline Population decline, also known as depopulation, is a reduction in a human population size. Throughout history, Earth's total world population, human population has estimates of historical world population, continued to grow but projections sugg ...

in some rural areas, and his work led to the development of the Beale code for categorizing rural development.

Life and career

Born in

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

, Beale graduated from Eastern High School and the Wilson Teachers College. After earning a master's degree in

sociology Sociology is the scientific study of human society that focuses on society, human social behavior, patterns of Interpersonal ties, social relationships, social interaction, and aspects of culture associated with everyday life. The term sociol ...

from the

University of Wisconsin A university () is an institution of tertiary education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. ''University'' is derived from the Latin phrase , which roughly means "community of teachers and scholars". Uni ...

, he worked at the

United States Department of Agriculture The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) is an executive department of the United States federal government that aims to meet the needs of commercial farming and livestock food production, promotes agricultural trade and producti ...

for 50 years.Barringer, Felicity (September 2, 2008)
Calvin L. Beale, Demographer With a Feel for Rural America, Dies at 85.
''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

''Wildman Jim (September 20, 2008)
Traveling The Rural Road With Calvin Beale.
''

National Public Radio National Public Radio (NPR) is an American public broadcasting organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., with its NPR West headquarters in Culver City, California. It serves as a national Radio syndication, syndicator to a network of more ...

'' In addition to his work as a demographer, Beale was noted for his photographs of county courthouses across the United States. Beale died of

colon cancer Colorectal cancer (CRC), also known as bowel cancer, colon cancer, or rectal cancer, is the development of cancer from the colon or rectum (parts of the large intestine). Signs and symptoms may include blood in the stool, a change in bowel ...

in Washington, D.C.Schudel, Matt (September 14, 2008)
Demographer Looked Past the Numbers To Discover the Heart of the Heartland.
''

The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'', locally known as ''The'' ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'' or ''WP'', is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C., the national capital. It is the most widely circulated newspaper in the Washington m ...

''; accessed December 14, 2016.

References

1923 births 2008 deaths American demographers Deaths from colorectal cancer in Washington, D.C. United States Department of Agriculture officials University of Wisconsin–Madison College of Letters and Science alumni Academics from Washington, D.C. University of the District of Columbia alumni Eastern High School (Washington, D.C.) alumni {{US-statistician-stub