Beau Riffenburgh | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1955 (age 70–71) |
| Pen name | Simon Beaufort |
| Occupation |
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| Nationality | British/American |
| Alma mater | University of Cambridge |
| Spouse | Liz Cruwys |
Beau Riffenburgh (born 1955) is a British/American author and historian specializing in polar exploration. He also formerly was anAmerican football coach and author of books on football history.
A native of California, Riffenburgh earned a BA from the University of California at Irvine and a Master’s from theUniversity of Southern California. He was the Senior Writer and Director of Research forNational Football League Properties in the 1980s. While there, he wrote or edited eight books, includingThe Official NFL Encyclopedia. He served briefly as Editor-in-Chief forTotal Sports Publishing.
Riffenburgh earned his doctorate at theScott Polar Research Institute at theUniversity of Cambridge. From 1992 to 2006, he served as the editor ofPolar Record, the world's oldest journal of polar research. He also was the head of the Polar History Group at theScott Polar Research Institute and a lecturer in the History Faculty of theUniversity of Cambridge.
Riffenburgh has written or edited more than 30 books on exploration, includingThe Myth of the Explorer, an examination of the relationship of the popular press with exploration;Nimrod, the story ofErnest Shackleton'sNimrod Expedition, which almost attained both the South Pole and the South Magnetic Pole; andAurora, the tale ofDouglas Mawson'sAustralasian Antarctic Expedition. He was the editor of theEncyclopedia of the Antarctic, a two-volume work that is the most comprehensive reference work ever produced about the Antarctic.
Riffenburgh’s major scholarly book not related to the polar regions isPinkerton’s Great Detective, a biography of James McParland, whose undercover exploits brought down the Molly Maguires in the Pennsylvania coal fields. He has also written three books onTitanic, including the best-sellingThe Titanic Experience.
While at Cambridge, Riffenburgh served as the head coach of Cambridge'sAmerican football team in theBritish Collegiate American Football League. He was named National Coach of the Year twice in his five seasons (1991–1996). Riffenburgh later spent one season as head coach of theUniversity of Hertfordshire Hurricanes. The team went undefeated and won the National Championship during the 1997–1998 season, and he was again named National Coach of the Year.[1]
Riffenburgh was the first head coach of theGreat Britain Bulldogs, the national university American football team, which won the first two European Championships in 1994 and 1996.
He was inducted into the BCAFL's Hall of Fame in 2000 as part of the Hall's founding class.[1] He also was inducted in the founding class of the British American Football Association’s Hall of Fame, the only university representative so honoured.
Riffenburgh has written numerous mystery novels with his wife,Elizabeth Cruwys, under the pseudonymSimon Beaufort.[2]
