J. C. Beckett

James Camlin Beckett (8 February 1912 – 12 February 1996) was a Northern Irish historian.

Early life Beckett was a native of Belfast, where he received his education at the Royal Belfast Academical Institution (where he was a contemporary of R. B. McDowell) and Queen's University. He initially read English literature before transferring to Modern History and in 1934 he graduated with First Class Honours.

Academic career After his graduation he taught at Belfast Royal Academy and completed an MA degree under the supervision of T. W. Moody. His MA dissertation was published by Faber under the title Protestant Dissent in Ireland 1687–1780 and was the second volume in the 'Studies in Irish History' series, of which Moody was co-editor.

He was a member of the Church of Ireland.

Works Protestant Dissent in Ireland, 1687–1780 (1948). A Short History of Ireland (1952). Ulster since 1800: A Political and Economic Survey (1954). Ulster since 1800: A Social Survey (1957). Queen's, Belfast 1845–1949: The History of a University (with T. W. Moody, 1959). The Making of Modern Ireland (1966). Belfast: Origins and Growth of an Industrial City (1967). The Ulster Debate: Report of a Study Group of the Institute for the Study of Conflict (1972), with Brian Crozier and Robert Moss. London: The Bodley Head for the Institute for the Study of Conflict. . The Anglo-Irish Tradition (1976) The Cavalier Duke: A Life of James Butler, 1st Duke of Ormond, 1610–1688 (1990).