Richard R. Beeman, 74, a University of Pennsylvania historian and a trustee of the National Constitution Center, who revered America's founding document and spent decades teaching its creation and complexities, died Monday, Sept. 5, of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), also known as Lou Gehrig's disease.. . . .
Richard Beeman (credit)
Dr. Beeman wrote eight books and dozens of articles on U.S. political and constitutional history, winning the George Washington Book Prize for Plain Honest Men: The Making of the American Constitution (2009).Read on here.
Dr. Beeman "made our national origins matter to generations of appreciative students, of which I was one," said Drew Gilpin Faust, president of Harvard University. "His books will keep his voice alive for many years to come."
NB: I knew Professor Beeman a bit from my time as a graduate student. I will remember him as an enthusiastic scholar and teacher, who entertained his undergraduates every year by lecturing in costume. He was also a great lover of dogs and regularly brought his to the Department, giving the place a warm and welcoming feel. I'm sure his current colleagues and students will miss him greatly.
