Charles Bean
journalist, historian
Charles Edwin Woodrow Bean (18 November 1879 – 30 August 1968), also commonly identified as C. E. W. Bean, was an Australian historian and one of Australia's official war correspondents.
He was editor and principal author of the 12-volume Official History of Australia in the War of 1914–1918, and a primary advocate for establishing the Australian War Memorial (AWM).
According to the Online International Encyclopedia of the First World War, no other Australian has been more influential in shaping the way the First World War is remembered in Australia.
When Bean died on 30 August 1968, aged 88, an obituary written by Guy Harriott, associate editor of The Sydney Morning Herald and a former war correspondent, described Bean as being "one of Australia's most distinguished men of letters".
Early life and education
Charles Bean was born in Bathurst, New South Wales, the first of three sons of the Reverend Edwin Bean (1851–1922), then headmaster of All Saints' College, Bathurst, and Lucy Madeline Bean, née Butler (1852–1942).
In his paper "Be Substantially Great in Thy Self: Getting to Know C.E.W. Bean: Barrister, Judge's Associate, Moral Philosopher", Geoff Lindsay SC contended that Bean's family and his formal education fostered his values which were influenced by "The Arnold Tradition". This was the model of moral values and education championed by Dr Arnold of Rugby School, which emphasised individual self-worth and qualities associated with "good character": trust and reliability, honesty, openness, self-discipline, self-reliance, independent thought and action, friendship, and concern for the common good over selfish or sectional interests". Further, according to Lindsay, Bean's preoccupation with character was consistent with, if not a reflection of, the "Arnold Tradition".
Bean's formal education began in Australia at All Saints' College, Bathurst. In 1889, when Bean was nine, the family moved to England, where he was educated at Brentwood School, Essex (1891–1894), of which his father was the newly appointed headmaster.
The public source identifies “Charles Bean” as journalist, historian. This brief keeps that definition visible, then builds a research path around Charles, Bean and journalist.
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Biographical claims are most persuasive when dates, appointments and relationships can be traced to records created close to the events described. The source revision retrieved here is dated Sep 1, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q5075487. VIAF identifies the subject as 50038888. The Library of Congress control number is n81018397. 3 of 3 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1879, 1968, 1914 and 1918.
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This entry incorporates text from “Charles Bean” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.