Charles Keeler
Encyclopedia
Charles Augustus Keeler (October 7, 1871 – July 31, 1937) was an American author, poet, naturalist and advocate for the arts, particularly architecture.
Keeler was born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin
, and moved with his family to Berkeley
in 1887. He studied biology at UC Berkeley, was a member of Beta Theta Pi
fraternity and was hired in 1891 by the California Academy of Sciences
in San Francisco. That same year, Keeler met the architect Bernard Maybeck
on the commuter ferry. They became friends, and in 1895 Keeler hired Maybeck to build his home on Highland Place, just north of the UC campus. It was Maybeck's first residential commission.
Keeler and Maybeck were both charter members of the Hillside Club
, and Keeler was its first secretary (1902–1903) and second president (1903–1905). He laid out his ideas for a new kind of architecture in his 1904 book The Simple Home, which became a manifesto of sorts for the Club. Keeler was also member of the Author's Club of London, and the New York Author's Club.
Keeler was friends with many influential naturalists and outdoorsmen, including John Muir
, John Burroughs
, painter William Keith
and developer Duncan McDuffie
– men who today would be called environmentalists. Indeed, Keeler often advocated the blurring of boundaries between house and garden.
Keeler was a lifelong adventurer. In 1893 he took a trip around Cape Horn on the clipper ship Charmer. In 1899, Keeler was invited to join other elite scientists on the Harriman Alaska Expedition
, to study and document the coast of Alaska
. He and his family voyaged to the South Pacific in 1900–1901, visiting Tahiti, New Zealand, Australia, Samoa and Hawaii. In 1910 he took a worldwide poetry reading tour; he read before Queen Liliuokalani in Hawaii and the Emperor of Japan, and was a house guest of the Hindu poet Sarojini Naidu
in Hyderabad, India.
Keeler was an active member of the Bohemian Club
, and in 1913, rewrote the script for the Cremation of Care
ceremony, performed at the summer encampment at the Bohemian Grove
.
Keeler married Louise Mapes Bunnell (1872–1907) in 1893. Louise was a talented artist and illustrated several of his books of poetry. They had three children: Merodine, Leonarde (co-inventor of the polygraph) and Eloise. In 1921 he married poet Ormeida Curtis Harrison (1875–1947). Keeler died in 1937 at his home in Berkeley.
Keeler was born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Wisconsin
Wisconsin is a U.S. state located in the north-central United States and is part of the Midwest. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michigan to the northeast, and Lake Superior to the north. Wisconsin's capital is...
, and moved with his family to Berkeley
Berkeley, California
Berkeley is a city on the east shore of the San Francisco Bay in Northern California, United States. Its neighbors to the south are the cities of Oakland and Emeryville. To the north is the city of Albany and the unincorporated community of Kensington...
in 1887. He studied biology at UC Berkeley, was a member of Beta Theta Pi
Beta Theta Pi
Beta Theta Pi , often just called Beta, is a social collegiate fraternity that was founded in 1839 at Miami University in Oxford, Ohio, USA, where it is part of the Miami Triad which includes Phi Delta Theta and Sigma Chi. It has over 138 active chapters and colonies in the United States and Canada...
fraternity and was hired in 1891 by the California Academy of Sciences
California Academy of Sciences
The California Academy of Sciences is among the largest museums of natural history in the world. The academy began in 1853 as a learned society and still carries out a large amount of original research, with exhibits and education becoming significant endeavors of the museum during the twentieth...
in San Francisco. That same year, Keeler met the architect Bernard Maybeck
Bernard Maybeck
Bernard Ralph Maybeck was a architect in the Arts and Crafts Movement of the early 20th century. He was a professor at University of California, Berkeley...
on the commuter ferry. They became friends, and in 1895 Keeler hired Maybeck to build his home on Highland Place, just north of the UC campus. It was Maybeck's first residential commission.
Keeler and Maybeck were both charter members of the Hillside Club
Hillside Club
The Hillside Club is a neighborhood social club established in 1898 by residents of Berkeley, California's newly formed Northside neighborhood to protect the hills from unsightly grading and unsuitable buildings, and took its cue from the Arts and Crafts movement...
, and Keeler was its first secretary (1902–1903) and second president (1903–1905). He laid out his ideas for a new kind of architecture in his 1904 book The Simple Home, which became a manifesto of sorts for the Club. Keeler was also member of the Author's Club of London, and the New York Author's Club.
Keeler was friends with many influential naturalists and outdoorsmen, including John Muir
John Muir
John Muir was a Scottish-born American naturalist, author, and early advocate of preservation of wilderness in the United States. His letters, essays, and books telling of his adventures in nature, especially in the Sierra Nevada mountains of California, have been read by millions...
, John Burroughs
John Burroughs
John Burroughs was an American naturalist and essayist important in the evolution of the U.S. conservation movement. According to biographers at the American Memory project at the Library of Congress,...
, painter William Keith
William Keith (artist)
William Keith was a Scottish-American painter famous for his California landscapes.-Early life:Keith was born in Oldmeldrum, Aberdeenshire, Scotland, and emigrated to the United States in 1850. He lived in New York City, and became an apprentice wood engraver in 1856...
and developer Duncan McDuffie
Duncan McDuffie
Duncan McDuffie was a real estate developer, conservationist, and mountaineer based in Berkeley, California, USA.-Visionary developer:...
– men who today would be called environmentalists. Indeed, Keeler often advocated the blurring of boundaries between house and garden.
Keeler was a lifelong adventurer. In 1893 he took a trip around Cape Horn on the clipper ship Charmer. In 1899, Keeler was invited to join other elite scientists on the Harriman Alaska Expedition
Harriman Alaska Expedition
In 1899, wealthy railroad magnate Edward Harriman arranged for a maritime expedition to Alaska. Harriman brought with him an elite community of scientists, artists, photographers, and naturalists to explore and document the Alaskan coast...
, to study and document the coast of Alaska
Alaska
Alaska is the largest state in the United States by area. It is situated in the northwest extremity of the North American continent, with Canada to the east, the Arctic Ocean to the north, and the Pacific Ocean to the west and south, with Russia further west across the Bering Strait...
. He and his family voyaged to the South Pacific in 1900–1901, visiting Tahiti, New Zealand, Australia, Samoa and Hawaii. In 1910 he took a worldwide poetry reading tour; he read before Queen Liliuokalani in Hawaii and the Emperor of Japan, and was a house guest of the Hindu poet Sarojini Naidu
Sarojini Naidu
Sarojini Naidu , also known by the sobriquet The Nightingale of India, was a child prodigy, Indian independence activist and poet...
in Hyderabad, India.
Keeler was an active member of the Bohemian Club
Bohemian Club
The Bohemian Club is a private men's club in San Francisco, California, United States.Its clubhouse is located at 624 Taylor Street in San Francisco...
, and in 1913, rewrote the script for the Cremation of Care
Cremation of Care
The Cremation of Care is an annual theatrical production written, produced and performed by and for members of the Bohemian Club, and staged at the Bohemian Grove near Monte Rio, California at a small artificial lake amid a private old-growth grove of Redwood trees.The dramatic performance is...
ceremony, performed at the summer encampment at the Bohemian Grove
Bohemian Grove
Bohemian Grove is a campground located at 20601 Bohemian Avenue, in Monte Rio, California, belonging to a private San Francisco-based men's art club known as the Bohemian Club...
.
Keeler married Louise Mapes Bunnell (1872–1907) in 1893. Louise was a talented artist and illustrated several of his books of poetry. They had three children: Merodine, Leonarde (co-inventor of the polygraph) and Eloise. In 1921 he married poet Ormeida Curtis Harrison (1875–1947). Keeler died in 1937 at his home in Berkeley.