Beau Riffenburgh
Encyclopedia
Beau Riffenburgh is an author
and historian
specializing in polar exploration
. He is also an award winning American Football
coach and author of books on football history.
, Riffenburgh was the Senior Writer and Director of Research for National Football League Properties
in the eighties and early nineties. While there, he wrote or edited seven books, including the NFL's official encyclopedia. He served briefly as Editor-in-Chief for Total Sports Publishing
.
at the University of Cambridge
. He has written or edited numerous books on polar exploration, including The Myth of the Explorer, an award-winning scholarly examination of the relationship of the popular press with exploration; Shackleton's Forgotten Expedition, the story of the Ernest Shackleton
's Nimrod Expedition
, which almost attained both the South Pole
and the South Magnetic Pole; and Racing with Death, the story of Douglas Mawson's Antarctic expeditions. He was the editor of the Encyclopedia of the Antarctic, a two-volume work that is the most comprehensive reference work ever produced about the Antarctic.
From 1992 to 2005, Riffenburgh served as the editor of Polar Record, the world's oldest journal of polar research
. He has served as the head of the Polar History Group at the Scott Polar Research Institute
and as a lecturer in the history faculty of the University of Cambridge
.
to use as the head coach of Cambridge's team in the British Collegiate American Football League
. He was named National Coach of the Year twice in his five seasons (1991–1996). After Cambridge dropped their team, Riffenburgh spent one season as head coach of the University 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. http://www.hurricanes.org.uk/history/1997/season.php
Riffenburgh was the first head coach of the Great 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.http://www.bcafl.org/halloffame/class0000/
Author
An author is broadly defined as "the person who originates or gives existence to anything" and that authorship determines responsibility for what is created. Narrowly defined, an author is the originator of any written work.-Legal significance:...
and historian
Historian
A historian is a person who studies and writes about the past and is regarded as an authority on it. Historians are concerned with the continuous, methodical narrative and research of past events as relating to the human race; as well as the study of all history in time. If the individual is...
specializing in polar exploration
Polar exploration
Polar exploration may refer to:* Antarctic exploration* Arctic exploration-See also:* Heroic Age of Antarctic Exploration* List of Antarctic expeditions* List of Arctic expeditions* List of polar explorers* List of Russian explorers...
. He is also an award winning American Football
American football
American football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...
coach and author of books on football history.
Early career
A native of CaliforniaCalifornia
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
, Riffenburgh was the Senior Writer and Director of Research for National Football League Properties
National Football League Properties
National Football League Properties also known as NFL Properties abbreviated NFLP is the merchandising and licensing arm of the National Football League. The subsidiary of the league was founded in 1963 to maintain control of the brands of the league and its franchises and to license and negotiate...
in the eighties and early nineties. While there, he wrote or edited seven books, including the NFL's official encyclopedia. He served briefly as Editor-in-Chief for Total Sports Publishing
Total Sports Publishing
Total Sports Publishing refers to a book publishing company based in Kingston, New York, that operated from 1998 to 2002. Prominent author John Thorn served as the division's publisher throughout its existence.-Total Sports:...
.
Polar research
Riffenburgh earned his doctorate degree at the Scott Polar Research InstituteScott Polar Research Institute
The Scott Polar Research Institute is a centre for research into the polar regions and glaciology worldwide. It is a sub-department of the Department of Geography in the University of Cambridge, located on Lensfield Road in the south of Cambridge ....
at the University of Cambridge
University of Cambridge
The University of Cambridge is a public research university located in Cambridge, United Kingdom. It is the second-oldest university in both the United Kingdom and the English-speaking world , and the seventh-oldest globally...
. He has written or edited numerous books on polar exploration, including The Myth of the Explorer, an award-winning scholarly examination of the relationship of the popular press with exploration; Shackleton's Forgotten Expedition, the story of the Ernest Shackleton
Ernest Shackleton
Sir Ernest Henry Shackleton, CVO, OBE was a notable explorer from County Kildare, Ireland, who was one of the principal figures of the period known as the Heroic Age of Antarctic Exploration...
's Nimrod Expedition
Nimrod Expedition
The British Antarctic Expedition 1907–09, otherwise known as the Nimrod Expedition, was the first of three expeditions to the Antarctic led by Ernest Shackleton. Its main target, among a range of geographical and scientific objectives, was to be first to the South Pole...
, which almost attained both the South Pole
South Pole
The South Pole, also known as the Geographic South Pole or Terrestrial South Pole, is one of the two points where the Earth's axis of rotation intersects its surface. It is the southernmost point on the surface of the Earth and lies on the opposite side of the Earth from the North Pole...
and the South Magnetic Pole; and Racing with Death, the story of Douglas Mawson's Antarctic expeditions. He was the editor of the Encyclopedia of the Antarctic, a two-volume work that is the most comprehensive reference work ever produced about the Antarctic.
From 1992 to 2005, Riffenburgh served as the editor of Polar Record, the world's oldest journal of polar research
Polar exploration
Polar exploration may refer to:* Antarctic exploration* Arctic exploration-See also:* Heroic Age of Antarctic Exploration* List of Antarctic expeditions* List of Arctic expeditions* List of polar explorers* List of Russian explorers...
. He has served as the head of the Polar History Group at the Scott Polar Research Institute
Scott Polar Research Institute
The Scott Polar Research Institute is a centre for research into the polar regions and glaciology worldwide. It is a sub-department of the Department of Geography in the University of Cambridge, located on Lensfield Road in the south of Cambridge ....
and as a lecturer in the history faculty of the University of Cambridge
University of Cambridge
The University of Cambridge is a public research university located in Cambridge, United Kingdom. It is the second-oldest university in both the United Kingdom and the English-speaking world , and the seventh-oldest globally...
.
Coaching career
While at Cambridge he put his expertise in American footballAmerican football
American football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...
to use as the head coach of Cambridge's team in the British Collegiate American Football League
British Collegiate American Football League
The British Collegiate American Football League was an American football league consisting of players from various colleges and universities in the United Kingdom.In 2007 it was succeeded by the British Universities American Football League....
. He was named National Coach of the Year twice in his five seasons (1991–1996). After Cambridge dropped their team, Riffenburgh spent one season as head coach of the University 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. http://www.hurricanes.org.uk/history/1997/season.php
Riffenburgh was the first head coach of the Great 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.http://www.bcafl.org/halloffame/class0000/
Books on exploration
- Encyclopedia of the Antarctic (2006)
- Shackleton's Forgotten Expedition : The Voyage of the Nimrod (2005)
- Nimrod: Ernest Shackleton and the Extraordinary Story of the 1907-09 British Antarctic Expedition (2005)
- With Scott to the Pole: The Photographs of Herbert Ponting. (1998, with Elizabeth Cruwys)
- The Myth of the Explorer : The Press, Sensationalism, and Geographical Discovery (1994)
Books on football
- 20th Century Sports : Images of Greatness (1999, with Mike Meserole)
- The American Football Almanac (1992)
- NFL : Official History of Pro Football (1990)
- Great Ones: NFL Quarterbacks from Montana to Baugh (1989)
- Official NFL Encyclopedia (1986)
- Running Wild: A Pictorial Tribute to the NFL's Greatest runners (1984)