John Cawte Beaglehole was a writer, historical advisor, educator, and researcher. He was born on June 13, 1901 in Wellington, New Zealand. He graduated from Victoria University as a history major and earned his doctorate at the London School of Economics. Beaglehole taught with the Worker's Educational Association and Auckland University College. In 1936, he became a lecturer in history at Victoria University; in 1948 he was made senior research fellow in colonial history, and in 1963 he was made professor. Beaglehole was also historical advisor to the Department of Internal Affairs, chairman of the board of management of the New Zealand University Press, and a member of the board of trustees of the National Art Gallery and Dominion Museum. He served as president of the New Zealand Council for Civil Liberties, and was a Fellow of the Royal Society of New Zealand. An expert on Captain James Cook and the exploration of the Pacific, Beaglehole wrote a biography of the explorer and edited many of Cook's journals. In addition, he assisted in identifying and marking Cook's landing sites in New Zealand and served for 16 years as a member of the New Zealand Historic Places Trust. Beaglehole died on October 10, 1971.
