Frank A. Beach

Beach is considered the principal founder of the field of behavioral endocrinology. Donald Dewsbery, writing for the National Academy of Sciences, called Beach "arguably the premier psychobiologist of his generation, influencing the development of psychobiology in numerous, diverse ways." The Society for Behavioral Neuroendocrinology has awarded the Frank A. Beach Young Investigator Award in Behavioral Neuroendocrinology annually since 1990.

Beach, along with anthropologist Clellan S. Ford, co-authored the book Patterns of Sexual Behavior (1951), considered a "classic" of its field. He was elected a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 1953 and a member of the American Philosophical Society in 1961. He also authored an edited version, Human Sexuality in Four Perspectives, in 1977. Beach's second wife, Anna, died in 1971, and he thereafter married Noel Gaustad. In the days prior to his death, Beach continued his work from a hospital bed, reading scientific literature and giving advice about a paper on reproductive behavior to be presented at an Omaha conference on June 12, 1988. He died on June 15, 1988.

1977 - Human Sexuality in Four Perspectives, Johns Hopkins University Press

1976 - Sexual Attractivity, Proceptivity, and Receptivity in Female Mammals, Hormones and Behavior, 7:1

Since publication, Patterns of Sexual Behavior has been cited by numerous scholars advocating against classifying homosexuality as mental disorder: 95 times in the first decade alone and an additional 226 times in the subsequent decade. In 1973, homosexuality was removed from the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM).

1971 - Hormonal Factors in the Ramstergig and Related Species, The Biopsychology of Development

1969 - Locks and Beagles, American Psychologist, 24:11

1955 - The De-scent of Instinct, Psychological Review, 62:6

1954 - Effects of Early Experience Upon the Behavior of Animals, Psychological Bulletin, 51:3

1952 - Patterns of Sexual Behavior, Oxford: England

1950 - The Snark was a Boojum, American Psychologist, 5:4

1948 - Hormones and Behavior: A Survey of Interrelationship between Endocrine Secretions and Patterns of Overt Response, Oxford: England (First Book)

In 1937, Beach was employed by the American Museum of Natural History in New York City. Beach was influential in advancing the study of neural and endocrinal influences on animal behavior. Beach remained at the Museum for 10 years. Beach organized an effort to save the department after the death of the former chairman. The department was renamed "The Department of Animal Behavior". In 1946, Beach accepted an academic appointment at Yale University where he would spend the next decade. There his research interest became focused on the reproductive behavior of dogs which he continued for the rest of his life. Beach was elected to the United States National Academy of Sciences in 1949. In 1950, he accepted a position as a Sterling Professor of Psychology. A sabbatical at the Center for Advanced Study in the Behavioral Sciences at Stanford began in 1957-58. In 1958, Beach accepted a position as Professor of Psychology at the University of California, Berkeley. The research program on dogs that was initiated at Yale was expanded at Berkeley. Beach helped found the Field Station for Behavioral Research near the Berkeley campus. Beach was known for being an excellent mentor to graduate students while at Berkeley. Beach became professor emeritus in 1978, but still remained active in his work. Beach was awarded the APA award for Distinguished Teaching in Biopsychology in 1986.

1937 - The Neural Basis of Innate Behavior, The Pedagogical Seminary and Journal of Genetic Psychology, 53:1 (Dissertation)

Beach returned to the University of Chicago in 1935, and completed, under the supervision of Harvey Carr, a PhD thesis on the role the neocortex on innate maternal behavior in rats. Although Beach completed his dissertation in 1936, he did not receive the degree until 1940 due to his inability to pass the foreign language portion of the degree requirements. During this period, Beach married his second wife, Anna Beth Odenweller, with whom he had two children, Frank and Susan. In 1936, Beach accepted a one-year position at Karl Lashley's Cambridge laboratory, where he continued his studies of animal sexual behavior.

Beach returned to Emporia, where he took his first psychology course with James B. Stroud, who would prove to be an important influence in his life. Beach graduated in 1932, right in the middle of the Great Depression. Beach was unable to find a job in teaching, so he accepted a fellowship in clinical psychology at Emporia to earn his master's degree. Beach completed a thesis on color vision in rats. After completing his master's degree, he moved to the University of Chicago, to accept a fellowship from psychologist Harvey Carr, who had trained his former mentor, James B. Stroud. In Chicago, Beach met and worked with behaviorist Karl Lashley, who had perhaps the strongest influence on Beach's professional life. Financial difficulties forced Beach to leave Chicago, and took a high school teaching position in Yates Center, Kansas, where he married his first wife. The union was short-lived.

Frank Ambrose Beach, Jr. (April 13, 1911 – June 15, 1988) was an American ethologist, best known as co-author of the 1951 book Patterns of Sexual Behavior. He is often regarded as the founder of behavioral endocrinology, as his publications marked the beginnings of the field.