George Louis Beer (July 26, 1872 – March 15, 1920) was a renowned American historian of the "Imperial school".Born in Staten Island, New York, to an affluent family that was prominent in New York's German-Jewish community, Beer's father owned a successful tobacco importing business. He studied at Columbia University, where he received the A.B. degree (1892) and then an A.M. degree in 1893.