Serbia, Kingdom. A Posthumous Award of the Order of St. Sava, 4th Class Award Document

A Posthumous Award of the Serbian Order of St. Sava, 4th Class Award Document, to William Beebe, Professor of Mathematics, Yale University

Serbia, United States; Text in French and Serbian, numbered "1796", issued on February 15, 1923 and initialled on June 25, 1922 at Belgrade, stating that the Order of St. Sava, 4th Class was awarded to American William Beebe, Professor of Mathematics at Yale University, resident of New Haven, Connecticut USA, dated June 9th 1923 and signed by his wife, Elizabeth Febiger Beebe, printed in black ink on an off-white paper stock, with personalized inscriptions in handwritten black ink, 200 mm (w) x 320 mm (h), two horizontal fold marks, light soiling and spotting, very fine.

Footnote: William Beebe was born September 4, 1851 in Litchfield, Connecticut, the son of Philip Schuyler and Lucy Beebe (Robbins) Beebe. His father, whose parents were William and Clarissa (Sanford) Beebe, were descended from John Beebe, who came to the United States from England in May, 1650, and settled in Hadley, Massachusetts. His great-grandfather, Bezaliel Beebe, a colonel in the Revolution, also fought in the French and Indian Wars. His mother, likewise a descendant of John Beebe, was the daughter of Samuel and Luce (Beebe) Robbins. William Beebe was fitted for Yale at the Litchfield Select Academy. He was awarded first and second prizes in English composition in his Sophomore year, a second prize at Junior Exhibition, and a Townsend premium and a first prize in English composition in his Senior year. His appointments were Philosophical Orations, and he ranked third in his Class at graduation in 1873, graduating with a Bachelor of Arts. He was a member of Phi Beta Kappa, and served on the editorial board of the Yale Literary Magazine in 1872-1873. He taught for three months in the autumn of 1873 at Hartford (Connecticut) Public High School, but was then compelled by an attack of inflammatory rheumatism to give up his position. In 1874, Beebe began work in mathematics and astronomy in the Yale Graduate School, continuing his studies in that department until 1879. He had been a member of the Yale Faculty since 1876, when he received an appointment as a tutor. At the age of 28, he married Elizabeth Febiger on June 22, 1880, in Wilmington, Delaware, the daughter of Colonel George Lea Febiger and Caroline (Smith) Febiger. They had one son, Philip Schuyler II, a non-graduate member of the Sheffield Class of 1905, who died on May 20, 1908. He was promoted to be Assistant Professor of Mathematics in 1882, and in 1898 was raised to a full professorship. He had also served as Instructor and Professor of Astronomy. Since the fall of 1915, he had been a member of the University Council. Professor Beebe had written a number of articles on cometary orbits for German periodicals. In 1882, in conjunction with the late Professor Andrew Wheeler Phillips (Ph.B. 1873, Honorary M.A. Trinity 1875, Ph.D. Yale 1877), he published "Graphic Algebra," and completed a work on analytical geometry. He belonged to the American Mathematical Society. Yale conferred the honorary degree of Master of Arts upon him in 1899. Professor Beebe had for some years been actively interested as a trustee in the George Junior Republic at Litchfield, giving generously of his time and energy to the work of the American Red Cross and had served on the Serbian Relief Committee. He was a benefactor of the Gaylord Farm Sanatorium in Wallingford, Connecticut of which he was a Director and, for some years, Financial Agent. He and wife, Elizabeth, gave an open air pavilion in memory of their late son to this institution. Professor Beebe was a member of the Protestant Episcopal Church, being a vestryman of Trinity Church in New Haven, Connecticut and had taken a number of trips abroad. William Beebe died on March 11, 1917, at his home in New Haven, at the age of 65, after a brief illness from double pneumonia, and was survived by his wife, Elizabeth. His body was taken to Litchfield for burial in the West Cemetery. His wife, Elizabeth Febiger Beebe, was born in Ohio and was a member of the Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR), a lineage-based membership service organization for women who are directly descended from a person involved in the United States' efforts towards independence. She herself was a descendant of Colonel Christian Febiger of Connecticut. Her husband, William Beebe, Professor of Mathematics at Yale University was posthumously awarded the Order of St. Sava, 4th Class. His wife, Elizabeth, received his award on June 9, 1923.