Professor Emeritus of French
Robert Beachboard (1909–1998) was born in Berkeley, California. He received his doctoral degree from the Sorbonne in 1939, focusing his dissertation on the theater of Maurice Maeterlinck in the United States. Before beginning his academic career, he served in the military during World War II, participating in the Allied landings in Southern France (Operation Dragoon). He earned the rank of Major.
After the war, Bob joined the faculty at the newly established Santa Barbara College of the University of California, which became a general campus of the University of California in 1958. He retired from UCSB in 1975 with the rank of Professor.
Bob’s research focused on twentieth-century French culture. He was the author of two books, La Trinité Maudite (1952), a biographical study of artists Suzanne Valadon, André Utter, and Maurice Utrillo; and The Montmartre Colony (1963), a study of the artistic community in Montmartre. He also published journal articles on the early twentieth-century French avant-garde and on Henri Rousseau.
In recognition of his military service, Bob lies in rest at Arlington National Cemetery.