Edward Bean

Guest Post by Nicholas Baumgart

Edward Bean was the director of the Washington Park Zoo beginning in 1904 (according to UWM archives) or 1906 (according to a 1916 newspaper article reporting on his 10 year anniversary). Edward Bean began his career with animals at the 1893 Columbian Exhibition working for Carl Hagenbeck. From there he went on to lead the Lincoln Park Zoo before moving north to Milwaukee. While in Milwaukee, Bean increased the menagerie of the park by nearly 9-fold! Bean saw to the first birth and raising of a captive polar bear to maturity. This monumental first would only be the beginning for the Washington Park Zoo. Bean served the zoo not just as the leader of the park and animals, but also on the board of directors of the Washington Park Zoological Society. While on the board, Bean proposed and arranged the purchase and sale of zoo animals. Bean dealt with all animals, large and small; for example, he saw to the purchase of a hippo and the building of the hippo habitat. The minutes of the meetings never mention a goal of animal breeding, but Bean and the members kept this in mind. In 1914, the loss of a sickly llama is mentioned; to replace the llama, Bean was instructed to find a female in order to “get new blood into the herd.” Bean was even approached by community groups offering fundraising opportunities. In October of 1913, an acting troupe offered the use of their theatre and actors to raise money for the zoo. The Board, though, declined the offer as it was inconvenient; the director of the troupe only offered weekday matinee performances. Bean served the zoo and zoological society until 1928 when he was offered a position at the Brookfield Zoo, near Chicago. Despite leaving Milwaukee, he held close ties to the Washington Park Zoo by exchanging animals and staff.