>KropotkinSchmopotkin: /* Career */

2021-05-31T17:21:59Z

Career

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{{short description|British academic (1859-1899)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=December 2015}}
{{Use British English|date=December 2015}}
{{Infobox officeholder
| honorific-prefix =
| name = Theodore Beck
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| birth_date = 4 July 1859
| birth_place = Stoke Newington, London
| death_date = 2 September 1899
| death_place = Shimla
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{{Aligarh Movement}}

'''Theodore Beck''' (4 July 1859 [[Stoke Newington]] – 2 September 1899, [[Shimla]]<ref name="Buckland">Buckland, C. E., ''Dictionary of Indian biography'', 1906</ref>) was a Quaker<ref>https://archive.org/details/indian-tapestry</ref> and [[United Kingdom|British]] educationalist working for the [[British Raj]] in [[India]]. From 1883 until his death in 1899 he was Principal of [[Muhammadan Anglo-Oriental College]], which later became [[Aligarh Muslim University]].

==Early life==

Theodore Beck was the son of [[Joseph Beck (Quaker)|Joseph Beck]] (1829-1891), an [[optical instrument]] manufacturer. Joseph Beck was a member of the [[Anti-Slavery International|Anti-Slavery Society]], Treasurer of the Friends War Victims Relief Committee during the [[Franco-Prussian War]],<ref>https://archive.org/stream/indian-tapestry/indian-tapestry_djvu.txt</ref> and led the campaign ensuring [[Clissold Park]] became a public park.<ref>[https://www.hackneycitizen.co.uk/2016/07/05/joseph-beck-man-who-saved-clissold-park/ Joseph Beck – the man who saved Clissold Park], ''Hackney Citizen'', 5 July 2016. Accessed 11 July 2020.</ref> Theodore was educated at the [[University of London]] and [[Trinity College, Cambridge]].,<ref>{{acad|id=BK879T|name=Beck, Theodore}}</ref> where he was an active member of the '[[Cambridge Apostles|Apostles]]', a student society founded by [[Frederick Denison Maurice]]. He gained his Cambridge B.A. in 1883.<ref name="Buckland" />

==Career==
[[Sir Syed Ahmed Khan]] asked Beck to be the Principal of the [[Muhammadan Anglo-Oriental College]] in [[Aligarh]] after the first Principal, [[Henry George Impey Siddons]], resigned in 1883 due to poor healt. He was appointed Principal in 1883, aged only 24,<ref name="Buckland" /> taking charge of the college on 1 February 1864 and serving as Principal until his death in 1899.<ref name=amu>{{cite web |url=http://www.amu.ac.in/pdf/pro/arch.pdf |title=Architectural History |website=Aligarh Muslim University |accessdate=2016-05-23 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20160523135756/http://www.amu.ac.in/pdf/pro/arch.pdf |archivedate=23 May 2016 |df=dmy-all }}</ref><ref name=karwaane>http://karwaanealigarh.blogspot.in/2007/06/principal-mao-college-theodore-beck.html</ref>

Beck succeeded [[Henry George Impey Siddons]], the first Principal of [[Muhammadan Anglo-Oriental College|M.A.O College]] in [[Aligarh]], and served as Principal from 1883 to 1899. He was one of the secretaries of the [[Mohammedan Defence Association]].

He was the founder President of [[Siddons Union Club]] at Muhammadan Anglo-Oriental College in 1884.<ref>http://www.amu.ac.in/pro.jsp?did=10065&lid=Important%20Landmarks</ref>

He edited ''[[Aligarh Institute Gazette]]''.

After Sir Syed died in 1898, Beck devoted himself to an appeal for a "Sir Syed Memorial fund". He wrote articles, delivered speeches and visited [[Allahbad]] and elsewhere to collect funds for raising a suitable memorial and setting up Sir Syed's dream of a Muslim University. In order to raise MAO College to the status of Muslim University, Beck aimed to collect a sum of Rs. 1,000,000. He succeeded in persuading Englishmen as well as Muslims to contribute: the Viceroy [[Victor Bruce, 9th Earl of Elgin|Lord Elgin]] contributed Rs. 2,000. However, Beck's own health began to fail as he worked upon the appeal. Though he moved to [[Simla]] to recuperate, he died there on 2 September 1899.<ref name=amu/><ref name=karwaane/> After he died his younger sister [[Emma Josephine Beck]] returned to Britain where she became the secretary of the [[National Indian Association]].<ref>[http://www.open.ac.uk/researchprojects/makingbritain/content/e-j-beck E.J.Beck], Open University, Retrieved 28 July 2015</ref>

==Beck manzil==
Old Boys living at [[Meerut]] held a meeting on 10 September 1899 and decided to raise a fund to commemorate Beck's memory. They collected a sum of Rs. 465/- on the spot, and the Beck Fund eventually amounted to Rs. 6,000/-. The money was used to build the hall adjacent to the Lytton Library, which was named "Beck Manzil".<ref name=amu/><ref name=karwaane/>

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
*{{worldcat id|lccn-no00-26899}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Beck, Theodore}}
[[Category:1859 births]]
[[Category:1899 deaths]]
[[Category:Heads of universities and colleges in India]]
[[Category:British educational theorists]]
[[Category:Alumni of the University of London]]
[[Category:Alumni of Trinity College, Cambridge]]
[[Category:Presidents of the Cambridge Union]]
[[Category:Aligarh Muslim University faculty]]

Theodore Beck - Revision history

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