Raymond Wendell Beachey (24 October 1915 – 10 July 2010) was a Canadian educator, historian and academic best known for his work at

Makerere University Makerere University (; Mak) is Uganda's largest and oldest institution of higher learning, first established as a technical school in 1922, and the oldest currently active university in East Africa. It became an independent national university in ...

Uganda Uganda, officially the Republic of Uganda, is a landlocked country in East Africa. It is bordered to the east by Kenya, to the north by South Sudan, to the west by the Democratic Republic of the Congo, to the south-west by Rwanda, and to the ...

in the 1950s and 1960s. In this capacity he tutored many important African leaders including

Benedicto Kiwanuka Benedicto Kagimu Mugumba Kiwanuka (8 May 1922 – 22 September 1972) was a Ugandan politician and statesman who served as the first prime minister of Uganda. He was the leader of the Democratic Party, and one of the political figures in Uganda ...

Yusuf Lule Yusuf Kironde Lule (10 April 1912 – 21 January 1985) was a Ugandan professor and politician who served as the fourth president of Uganda between 13 April and 20 June 1979. Early life and career Yusuf Lule was born on 10 April 1912 in Kampala ...

and

Mwai Kibaki Emilio Stanley Mwai Kibaki (15 November 1931 – 21 April 2022) was a Kenyan politician who served as the third President of Kenya from December 2002 until April 2013. He served in various leadership positions in Kenya's government including ...

, but was concerned that Uganda was not ready for independence at the time it was granted and saw the dictatorial regimes of

Idi Amin Idi Amin Dada Oumee (, ; 30 May 192816 August 2003) was a Ugandan military officer and politician who served as the third president of Uganda from 1971 until Uganda–Tanzania War, his overthrow in 1979. He ruled as a Military dictatorship, ...

and

Milton Obote Apollo Milton Obote (28 December 1925 – 10 October 2005) was a Ugandan politician who served as the second prime minister of Uganda from 1962 to 1966 and the second president of Uganda from 1966 to 1971 and later from 1980 to 1985. A Lango, ...

as the result of the haste with which the British withdrew from the country. He was also an historian of East Africa and published several important works on the subject.

Life

Beachey was born in the town of

Trout Creek, Ontario Trout Creek is a community and unincorporated area in the municipality of Powassan, Parry Sound District in Northern Ontario, Canada. It is in geographic South Himsworth Township; is located on Ontario Highway 11, south of the town centre of Po ...

, and worked at logging camps to pay for his education before obtaining a job in finance in Ottawa and subsequently joining the

Royal Canadian Air Force The Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF; ) is the air and space force of Canada. Its role is to "provide the Canadian Forces with relevant, responsive and effective airpower". The RCAF is one of three environmental commands within the unified Can ...

during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. After the war he married Ursula Malloy and returned to Canada, taking a degree at Queen's University in Ontario followed by a

PhD A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, DPhil; or ) is a terminal degree that usually denotes the highest level of academic achievement in a given discipline and is awarded following a course of graduate study and original research. The name of the deg ...

in Imperial History at the

University of Edinburgh The University of Edinburgh (, ; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in Post-nominal letters, post-nominals) is a Public university, public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Founded by the City of Edinburgh Council, town council under th ...

. On graduation, Beachey took a position lecturing at Makerere University in

Kampala Kampala (, ) is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Uganda. The city proper has a population of 1,875,834 (2024) and is divided into the five political divisions of Kampala Central Division, Kampala, Kawempe Division, Kawempe, Makindy ...

, where many of his students would later become government ministers in Uganda and

Kenya Kenya, officially the Republic of Kenya, is a country located in East Africa. With an estimated population of more than 52.4 million as of mid-2024, Kenya is the 27th-most-populous country in the world and the 7th most populous in Africa. ...

. Among his colleagues at this time were V. S. Naipaul and

Paul Theroux Paul Edward Theroux ( ; born April 10, 1941) is an American novelist and travel writer who has written numerous books, including the travelogue '' The Great Railway Bazaar'' (1975). Some of his works of fiction have been adapted as feature films ...

, the latter describing him as "the gentle Canadian". Beachey found his African students to be more dedicated than those he had taught in Canada, but following Ugandan independence in 1962 he became increasingly concerned that the country was unprepared for self-government and left in 1968. The murder of his former student Benedicto Kiwanuka and the ensuing brutal reigns of Idi Amin and Milton Obote strengthened his opinion - on one occasion a former colleague who had suffered torture at the hands of Obote's men begged him to work towards a return of British rule in the country. After leaving Africa, Beachey held positions at

King's College London King's College London (informally King's or KCL) is a public university, public research university in London, England. King's was established by royal charter in 1829 under the patronage of George IV of the United Kingdom, King George IV ...

and the

University of Waterloo The University of Waterloo (UWaterloo, UW, or Waterloo) is a Public university, public research university located in Waterloo, Ontario, Canada. The main campus is on of land adjacent to uptown Waterloo and Waterloo Park. The university also op ...

in Canada before retiring in

Hampshire Hampshire (, ; abbreviated to Hants.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Berkshire to the north, Surrey and West Sussex to the east, the Isle of Wight across the Solent to the south, ...

in 1978. He lived there for the rest of his life, dying in July 2010. As well as his university work, Beachey was an important historian of East Africa, publishing numerous reference works on the region. He was also a collector of

Persian carpet A Persian carpet ( ), Persian rug ( ),Savory, R., ''Carpets'',(Encyclopaedia Iranica); accessed 30 January 2007. or Iranian carpet is a heavy textile made for a wide variety of utilitarian and symbolic purposes and produced in Iran (histo ...

s and travelled extensively in the

Middle East The Middle East (term originally coined in English language) is a geopolitical region encompassing the Arabian Peninsula, the Levant, Turkey, Egypt, Iran, and Iraq. The term came into widespread usage by the United Kingdom and western Eur ...

Works

*''The British West Indies Sugar Industry in the Late 19th Century'', 1957 *''The Slave Trade of Eastern Africa'', 1976 *''The Warrior Mullah'', 1990 *''A History of East Africa, 1592-1902'', 1995

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Beachey, Ray 1915 births Queen's University at Kingston alumni Alumni of the University of Edinburgh Historians from Ontario Canadian male non-fiction writers 2010 deaths Academics of King's College London Academic staff of the University of Waterloo Canadian military personnel of World War II Canadian expatriates in the United Kingdom Canadian expatriates Expatriates in Uganda