Edwin John Beer (7 February 1879 – 24 September 1986) was a British chemist, geologist, mineralogist, archaeologist, historian and librarian. He is noted primarily as a pioneer of the first man-made fibre which later became known as Viscose Rayon. The first stocking of "artificial silk" was made in his Kew laboratory.
During the First World War he prospected in India for fresh sources of industrial minerals (particularly tungsten) since the Germans had cornered essential supplies almost everywhere else. He located vast deposits of limestone suitable for making cement, which became a profitable export for India. Elected to the Geological Society of London, he later became the senior fellow. H G Wells and several other notables from that period were among his friends.[1][2]