Thousands of Citizens Honor Him
William Beckett remained at the Library of Congress until November 1910, when poor health forced him to leave his post. He returned to the library that December, determined to stay on the job. But after just ten days, he fell ill while on duty and returned to his home on M Street. Beckett died there on January 25, 1911.
The crowds of mourners at Beckett’s funeral “greatly taxed” the ample seating capacity of the Metropolitan African Methodist Episcopal Church. More than two thousand people came on a rainy winter Sunday to remember a man the Washington Bee described as “(h)aving all his life taken a deep interest in everything which tends to the uplift of his people around and in the District of Columbia.”
Continue William Beckett’s story →
William Beckett (Francis A. Gregory Genealogical Collection, The Peoples’ Archive, DC Public Library)