Willard Livingstone Beard ' onMouseout='HidePop("19104")' href="/topics/Pinyin">Pinyin

Pinyin

Pinyin is the official system to transcribe Chinese characters into the Roman alphabet in China, Malaysia, Singapore and Taiwan. It is also often used to teach Mandarin Chinese and spell Chinese names in foreign publications and used as an input method to enter Chinese characters into...

: Bì Yìzhī; Foochow Romanized: Bĭ Ék-dĭ; February 5, 1865 - April 15, 1947) was an American

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 missionary serving under the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions

American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions

The American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions was the first American Christian foreign mission agency. It was proposed in 1810 by recent graduates of Williams College and officially chartered in 1812. In 1961 it merged with other societies to form the United Church Board for World...

 in Foochow, China

China

Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...

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Life

Willard Livingstone Beard was born in Huntington, Connecticut

Connecticut

Connecticut is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, and the state of New York to the west and the south .Connecticut is named for the Connecticut River, the major U.S. river that approximately...

 on February 5, 1865. He enrolled at Oberlin College

Oberlin College

Oberlin College is a private liberal arts college in Oberlin, Ohio, noteworthy for having been the first American institution of higher learning to regularly admit female and black students. Connected to the college is the Oberlin Conservatory of Music, the oldest continuously operating...

 in 1887, and graduated with a Bachelor of Arts Degree in 1891. In 1894 he graduated from Hartford Seminary

Hartford Seminary

Hartford Seminary is a theological college in Hartford, Connecticut, USA.-History:Seminaries in the city of Hartford date back to 1833. In 1913, the current Hartford Seminary came into existence through the combination of three Hartford-based schools affiliated with the city's Congregationalist...

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In 1894, Beard started missionary work to China. He first began as a missionary for the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions

American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions

The American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions was the first American Christian foreign mission agency. It was proposed in 1810 by recent graduates of Williams College and officially chartered in 1812. In 1961 it merged with other societies to form the United Church Board for World...

 from 1894 to 1904. In 1904, he was released to start a YMCA

YMCA

The Young Men's Christian Association is a worldwide organization of more than 45 million members from 125 national federations affiliated through the World Alliance of YMCAs...

 in Fukien Province (now Fujian), for which he served as general secretary until 1909. In 1910, he returned to the United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

, and served as a secretary of the ABCFM in New York City

New York City

New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...

 for two years. In 1912, Beard returned to China, and held a position as president of Foochow College

Foochow College

Foochow College was a college in Foochow, China. It had a long history in the late nineteenth and early twentieth century with American Christian missionaries who taught there....

 until 1927. From 1927 to 1936 he returned to general missionary work in China. And after a brief time home in the United States, Beard served two more years for the ABCFM in Foochow.

At the outbreak of World War II

World War II

World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

, Beard returned to his hometown, where he remained for the rest of his life. On April 15, 1947, he died of heart attack at the home of his daughter in Jacksonville, Florida

Florida

Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...

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