Francis Francis (1822–1886) was an English writer on

angling Angling is a fishing technique that uses a fish hook or "angle" (from Old English ''angol'') attached to a fishing line to tether individual fish in the mouth. The fishing line is usually manipulated via a fishing rod, although rodless techniqu ...

Early life

Francis, born at

Seaton, Devon Seaton () is a seaside town, fishing harbour and civil parish in East Devon on the south coast of England, between Axmouth (to the east) and Beer, Devon, Beer (to the west). It faces onto Lyme Bay and is on the Dorset and East Devon Coast Juras ...

, was son of Captain Morgan, R.N.; his mother Sarah was the only daughter of Henry Robinson Hartley who founded the Hartley Institution at

Southampton Southampton () is a port city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. It is located approximately south-west of London and west of Portsmouth. The city forms part of the South Hampshire built-up area, which also covers Po ...

. He changed his name on coming of age and inheriting property. After studying at private schools, and with tutors, he adopted the profession of a

civil engineer A civil engineer is a person who practices civil engineering – the application of planning, designing, constructing, maintaining, and operating infrastructure while protecting the public and environmental health, as well as improving existing ...

, but on completing his articles abandoned it for sport and sporting literature.

Angler

In 1851 he married Mary Cole of Oxford, and devoted himself to angling. He was angling editor of '' The Field'' for more than a quarter of a century, and frequently wrote about his own experiences. Francis established the Thames Rights Defence Association, throughout life advocated the cause of fish culture, and suggested the plan of the National Fish-Culture Association. He had a large share, too, in introducing English

trout Trout are species of freshwater fish belonging to the genera '' Oncorhynchus'', ''Salmo'' and ''Salvelinus'', all of the subfamily Salmoninae of the family Salmonidae. The word ''trout'' is also used as part of the name of some non-salmoni ...

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

and

Tasmania ) , nickname = , image_map = Tasmania in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Tasmania in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdi ...

n streams. Francis was a member of the commission on

oyster Oyster is the common name for a number of different families of salt-water bivalve molluscs that live in marine or brackish habitats. In some species, the valves are highly calcified, and many are somewhat irregular in shape. Many, but not al ...

culture from 1868 to 1870. As naturalist director for some years of the

Brighton Aquarium SEA LIFE Brighton is an aquarium attraction in the English city of Brighton. Opened as Brighton Aquarium in 1872, it is the oldest operating aquarium in the world. The attraction was bought by Sea Life in 1991. History Designed by Eugenius Bir ...

he observed fish and made experiments on their culture.

Later life

Grave of Francis Francis in Twickenham Cemetery

He was seized with a severe stroke of paralysis in 1883. Though he eventually recovered from this, he grew thinner month by month, and an old cancer recurred. He died in his chair on 24 December 1886. He had long lived at

Twickenham Twickenham is a suburban district in London, England. It is situated on the River Thames southwest of Charing Cross. Historically part of Middlesex, it has formed part of the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames since 1965, and the boroug ...

and was buried there. The following quotation appears below his name on his gravestone:

And angle on, and beg to have
A quiet passage to a welcome grave.

These are the closings lines to the poem ''The Angler's Wish'' by English writer

Izaak Walton Izaak Walton (baptised 21 September 1593 – 15 December 1683) was an English writer. Best known as the author of ''The Compleat Angler'', he also wrote a number of short biographies including one of his friend John Donne. They have been colle ...

Works

Besides ‘The Diplomatic History of the Greek War’ (1878) which he wrote in early life, Francis was the author of: * ‘Pickackifax,’ a novel in rhyme, 1854. * ‘The Real Salt,’ a yachting story, 1854. * ‘The Angler's Register,’ 1858, 1860, 1861, from which sprang the ‘Angler's Diary.’ * ‘Newton Dogvane,’ a novel, 3 vols., illustrated by John Leech, 1859. * ‘Fish Culture,’ 1863. * ‘A Book on Angling,’ 1867, his best work, which has often been enlarged and reissued in subsequent years. * ‘Sidney Bellew,’ a sporting novel, 2 vols., 1870. * ‘Reports on Salmon Ladders,’ 1870. * ‘By Lake and River,’ rambles in the north of England and in Scotland. * ‘Angling’ (often reissued), 1877. * ‘Sporting Sketches with Pen and Pencil,’ 1878 (in conjunction with A. W. Cooper). * ‘Miscellaneous Papers from the "Field,"’ 1880. * ''War, Waves, and Wanderings: A Cruise in the ‘Lancashire Witch’'', 1881. * ‘The Practical Management of Fisheries,’ 1883. * ‘Angling Reminiscences,’ a posthumous work, 1887, containing almost his last contributions to the ''Field'' paper. He wrote the articles on angling in ''

Chambers's Encyclopædia ''Chambers's Encyclopaedia'' was founded in 1859Chambers, W. & R"Concluding Notice"in ''Chambers's Encyclopaedia''. London: W. & R. Chambers, 1868, Vol. 10, pp. v–viii. by William Chambers (publisher), William and Robert Chambers (publisher ...

'', and contributed to other magazines and journals.

References

* ;Attribution {{DEFAULTSORT:Francis, Francis 1822 births 1886 deaths English male journalists English non-fiction writers People from Seaton, Devon 19th-century English non-fiction writers British fishers 19th-century British journalists English male non-fiction writers 19th-century English male writers