Edward Beach was born on June 30, 1867, in Toledo, Ohio. He graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy in June 1888 and served aboard the wooden steam sloop USS Richmond before being commissioned an Ensign in the Navy on July 1, 1890. Beach next served as an engineering officer aboard the cruiser USS Philadelphia (C-4) and later served aboard the armored cruiser USS New York (ACR-2) and the wooden screw steamer USS Essex. Beach served aboard the cruiser USS Baltimore (C-3) during the Spanish-American War in 1898, where he participated in the Battle of Manila Bay. He then served in the Philippine-American War. Beach later served aboard the monitor USS Nevada (BM-8) and the armored cruiser USS Montana (ACR-13) before serving as an instructor at the U.S. Naval Academy. Capt Beach's first command was the collier USS Vestal (AS-4), which he commanded during the occupation of Vera Cruz, Mexico, in 1914, and the peacekeeping missions to Haiti in 1915. He next commanded the armored cruiser USS Tennessee (ACR-10, renamed the USS Memphis while under his command) and then commanded the Navy Torpedo Station at Newport, Rhode Island, where he was serving at the beginning of America's entry into World War I. Capt Beach became commander of the battleship USS New York (BB-34) in November 1918 and was present for the surrender of the German High Seas Fleet at the end of the war. His final assignment was as commander of the Mare Island Navy Yard on San Francisco Bay until his retirement from the Navy in September 1921. Edward married Alice Fouche in 1917 and they had three children; Edward, Jr., John, and Alice. He died on December 20, 1943, and was buried at Golden Gate National Cemetery in San Bruno, California.