Charles Fraser Beckingham

Charles Fraser Beckingham,FBA(Houghton, Huntingdonshire,18 February 1914 –Lewes,East Sussex,30 September 1998) was a professor ofIslamic studiesatManchester University(1958–65) andLondon University(1965–81).

Early life

Beckingham was born inHoughton, Huntingdonshire.His father was artist Arthur Beckingham.Beckingham read English atQueens' College, Cambridge,where he was a friend ofCyril Bibby.He worked for the Department of Printed Books in theBritish Museumfrom 1936 until 1946, interrupted by military and naval Intelligence service duringWorld War IIfrom 1942 until 1946. During that time he added to theAdmiralty Handbook of Western Arabia.

Academic career

He joined Manchester University as lecturer inIslamic historyin 1951, becoming a professor of Islamic studies in 1958. InCyprushe studied the history of theTurkish community.In 1965, Beckingham became a professor of Islamic studies at theSchool of Oriental and African Studies(Soas), atLondon Universityand was head of the Department of the Near and Middle East from 1969 until 1972. He retired in 1981 and was elected aFellow of the British Academyin 1983.

Other publications

He wroteBetween Islam and Christendom(1983) from his lectures and articles, and collaborated withEdward UllendorffonHebrew letters ofPrester Johnand in 1996 with Bernard Hamilton onPrester John, the Mongols and the Ten Lost Tribes.He finished ProfessorSir Hamilton Gibb's translation and annotation ofThe Travels ofIbn Battuta– a project which had taken, as Beckingham noted, longer than the travels of Ibn Battuta himself.