James Camlin Beckett (8 February 1912 – 12 February 1996) was a Northern Irish historian.Richard Froggatt,
James Camlin Beckett (1912–1996)
, ''Dictionary of Ulster Biography''.

Early life

Beckett was a native of

Belfast Belfast (, , , ; from ) is the capital city and principal port of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan and connected to the open sea through Belfast Lough and the North Channel (Great Britain and Ireland), North Channel ...

, where he received his education at the

Royal Belfast Academical Institution The Royal Belfast Academical Institution is an independent grammar school in Belfast, Northern Ireland. With the support of Belfast's leading reformers and democrats, it opened its doors in 1814. Until 1849, when it was superseded by what today ...

(where he was a contemporary of R. B. McDowell) and Queen's University.Alvin Jackson, 'J. C. Beckett: Politics, Faith, Scholarship' ''Irish Historical Studies'' Vol. 33, No. 130 (Nov., 2002), p. 132. He initially read English literature before transferring to Modern History and in 1934 he graduated with First Class Honours. A. T. Q. Stewart, 'James Camlin Beckett 1912-1996', ''History Ireland'', Vol. 4, No. 2 (Summer, 1996), pp. 5-6.

Academic career

After his graduation he taught at

Belfast Royal Academy The Belfast Royal Academy (also known as ) is the oldest school in the city of Belfast, Northern Ireland. It is a co-educational, non-denominational voluntary grammar school in north Belfast. The Academy is one of 8 schools in Northern Ireland ...

and completed an MA degree under the supervision of T. W. Moody. His MA dissertation was published by Faber under the title ''Protestant Dissent in Ireland 1687–1780'' and was the second volume in the 'Studies in Irish History' series, of which Moody was co-editor. In 1945 he joined the history faculty of Queen's University, where he was to spend the majority of his career. Initially a lecturer, he received promotion to a readership in 1952. During 1955–56 he was a Fellow Commoner at

Peterhouse, Cambridge Peterhouse is the oldest Colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge in England, founded in 1284 by Hugh de Balsham, Bishop of Ely. Peterhouse has around 300 undergraduate and 175 graduate stud ...

. In 1958 Queen's University awarded him a personal chair in Irish history, which he held until he retired in 1975 and assumed

emeritus ''Emeritus/Emerita'' () is an honorary title granted to someone who retires from a position of distinction, most commonly an academic faculty position, but is allowed to continue using the previous title, as in "professor emeritus". In some c ...

status. Beckett was also the Cummings Lecturer at

McGill University McGill University (French: Université McGill) is an English-language public research university in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Founded in 1821 by royal charter,Frost, Stanley Brice. ''McGill University, Vol. I. For the Advancement of Learning, ...

in 1976 and the Mellon Professor at

Tulane University The Tulane University of Louisiana (commonly referred to as Tulane University) is a private research university in New Orleans, Louisiana, United States. Founded as the Medical College of Louisiana in 1834 by a cohort of medical doctors, it b ...

in 1977. He was awarded an honorary degree of Doctor of Literature by the

University of Ulster Ulster University (; Ulster Scots: or ), legally the University of Ulster, is a multi-campus public research university located in Northern Ireland. It is often referred to informally and unofficially as Ulster, or by the abbreviation UU. It i ...

, the

National University of Ireland The National University of Ireland (NUI) () is a federal university system of ''constituent universities'' (previously called '' constituent colleges'') and ''recognised colleges'' set up under the Irish Universities Act 1908, and signifi ...

and Queen's University. Beckett served on the Royal Commission on Historical Documents from 1960 until 1986. ''The Making of Modern Ireland'', published in 1966, is considered his master-work and it became a standard textbook in schools and colleges. The book was groundbreaking in that it presented the findings of a critical generation of Irish historians and was, according to David Quinn, "not only learned but cool, objective, unimpassioned and yet always alive and compassionate as well". He was a member of the

Church of Ireland The Church of Ireland (, ; , ) is a Christian church in Ireland, and an autonomy, autonomous province of the Anglican Communion. It is organised on an all-Ireland basis and is the Christianity in Ireland, second-largest Christian church on the ...

.Alvin Jackson, 'J. C. Beckett: Politics, Faith, Scholarship', p. 141.

Works

*''Protestant Dissent in Ireland, 1687–1780'' (1948). *''A Short History of Ireland'' (1952). *''Ulster since 1800: A Political and Economic Survey'' (1954). *''Ulster since 1800: A Social Survey'' (1957). *''Queen's, Belfast 1845–1949: The History of a University'' (with T. W. Moody, 1959). *''The Making of Modern Ireland'' (1966). *''Belfast: Origins and Growth of an Industrial City'' (1967). * ''The Ulster Debate: Report of a Study Group of the Institute for the Study of Conflict'' (1972), with

Brian Crozier Brian Rossiter Crozier (4 August 1918, in Shire of Cloncurry, Queensland – 4 August 2012) was a British historian, propagandist and journalist. He was also one of the central staff members of a secret propaganda department belonging to ...

and

Robert Moss Robert Moss (born in 1946) is a historian, journalist, author and creator of a dreamwork technique called "active dreaming". Early life and education Moss was born in 1945 in Melbourne, Australia. As a child, Moss suffered several serious il ...

. London:

The Bodley Head The Bodley Head is an English book publishing imprint of Penguin Random House. Founded in 1887 by John Lane and Elkin Mathews, The Bodley Head existed as an independent entity or as part of multiple consortia until it was acquired by Random ...

for the Institute for the Study of Conflict. . *''The Anglo-Irish Tradition'' (1976) *''The Cavalier Duke: A Life of James Butler, 1st Duke of Ormond, 1610–1688'' (1990).

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Beckett, J. C. 1912 births 1996 deaths Historians from Northern Ireland Writers from Belfast 20th-century Irish historians 20th-century British male writers 20th-century writers from Northern Ireland Male non-fiction writers from Northern Ireland