Francis Wise (3 June 1695 – 5 October 1767) was an academic, archivist, librarian and antiquarian at the

University of Oxford , mottoeng = The Lord is my light , established = , endowment = £6.1 billion (including colleges) (2019) , budget = £2.145 billion (2019–20) , chancellor ...

Life

Francis Wise was born in

Oxford Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...

on 3 June 1695. His father, Francis Wise, was a

mercer Mercer may refer to: Business * Mercer (car), a defunct American automobile manufacturer (1909–1925) * Mercer (consulting firm), a large human resources consulting firm headquartered in New York City * Mercer (occupation), a merchant or trader ...

. After being educated at

New College School New College School (officially St Mary's College School) is an independent preparatory school for boys aged 4 to 13 in Oxford. It was founded in 1379 by William of Wykeham to provide for the education of 16 choristers for the chapel of New C ...

matriculated Matriculation is the formal process of entering a university, or of becoming eligible to enter by fulfilling certain academic requirements such as a matriculation examination. Australia In Australia, the term "matriculation" is seldom used now. ...

at the

University of Oxford , mottoeng = The Lord is my light , established = , endowment = £6.1 billion (including colleges) (2019) , budget = £2.145 billion (2019–20) , chancellor ...

as a member of

Trinity College Trinity College may refer to: Australia * Trinity Anglican College, an Anglican coeducational primary and secondary school in , New South Wales * Trinity Catholic College, Auburn, a coeducational school in the inner-western suburbs of Sydney, New ...

in 1711. He became a

fellow A fellow is a concept whose exact meaning depends on context. In learned or professional societies, it refers to a privileged member who is specially elected in recognition of their work and achievements. Within the context of higher education ...

of the college in 1718 and was ordained deacon and priest in 1721. Within the university, he served as under-keeper of the

Bodleian Library The Bodleian Library () is the main research library of the University of Oxford, and is one of the oldest libraries in Europe. It derives its name from its founder, Sir Thomas Bodley. With over 13 million printed items, it is the second- ...

from 1719, trying but failing to become

Bodley's Librarian The head of the Bodleian Library, the main library at the University of Oxford, is known as Bodley's Librarian: Sir Thomas Bodley, as founder, gave his name to both the institution and the position. Although there had been a university library at ...

in 1729 and President of Trinity College in 1731. He did, however, win the election for the position of

Keeper of the Archives The position of Keeper of the Archives at the University of Oxford in England dates from 1634, when it was established by new statutes for the university brought in by William Laud ( Archbishop of Canterbury and Chancellor of the University) ...

in 1726, in which he was the only Whig candidate. He carried out no new work with the archives, unlike his predecessors. His final success was to become the first librarian of the

Radcliffe Library The Radcliffe Science Library (RSL) is the main teaching and research science library at the University of Oxford in Oxford, England. Being officially part of the Bodleian Libraries, the library holds the Legal Deposit material for the sciences a ...

in 1748 – a

sinecure A sinecure ( or ; from the Latin , 'without', and , 'care') is an office, carrying a salary or otherwise generating income, that requires or involves little or no responsibility, labour, or active service. The term originated in the medieval chu ...

post, since it was an institution that at the outset had "few books and even fewer readers". His parish appointments were aided by

Francis North, 1st Earl of Guilford Francis North, 1st Earl of Guilford (13 April 1704 – 4 August 1790), of Wroxton Abbey, Oxfordshire, styled as Lord Guilford between 1729 and 1752, was a British Whig politician who sat in the House of Commons from 1727 until 1729 at which point ...

, the father of one of his pupils: Wise became

curate A curate () is a person who is invested with the ''care'' or ''cure'' (''cura'') ''of souls'' of a parish. In this sense, "curate" means a parish priest; but in English-speaking countries the term ''curate'' is commonly used to describe clergy w ...

Wroxton Wroxton is a village and civil parish in the north of Oxfordshire about west of Banbury. The 2011 Census recorded the parish's population as 546. Wroxton Abbey Wroxton Abbey is a Jacobean country house on the site of a former Augustinian p ...

, Oxfordshire (1723), to which were later added the parish of

Harlow Harlow is a large town and local government district located in the west of Essex, England. Founded as a new town, it is situated on the border with Hertfordshire and London, Harlow occupies a large area of land on the south bank of the upp ...

, Essex (briefly, in 1726, before his election as Keeper of the Archives) and the parish of

Elsfield Elsfield is an English village and civil parish about northeast of the centre of Oxford. The village is above sea level on the western brow of a hill with relatively steep sides above the River Cherwell. For relative reference purposes, the O ...

near Oxford (1726 onwards). Trinity College appointed him rector of

Rotherfield Greys Rotherfield Greys is a village and Civil parishes in England, civil parish in the Chiltern Hills in South Oxfordshire. It is west of Henley-on-Thames and just over east of Rotherfield Peppard (locally known as Peppard). It is linked by a ne ...

in 1745, and he resigned his fellowship at this time. He improved the house and garden in Elsfield, and was visited there by the writer and lexicographer

Samuel Johnson Samuel Johnson (18 September 1709 – 13 December 1784), often called Dr Johnson, was an English writer who made lasting contributions as a poet, playwright, essayist, moralist, critic, biographer, editor and lexicographer. The ''Oxford ...

and the poet and critic

Thomas Warton Thomas Warton (9 January 172821 May 1790) was an English literary historian, critic, and poet. He was appointed Poet Laureate in 1785, following the death of William Whitehead. He is sometimes called ''Thomas Warton the younger'' to disti ...

in 1754. Wise helped to ensure that Johnson was awarded an honorary degree by the university later that year. Wise worked in areas including as

numismatics Numismatics is the study or collection of currency, including coins, tokens, paper money, medals and related objects. Specialists, known as numismatists, are often characterized as students or collectors of coins, but the discipline also includ ...

and Anglo-Saxon studies, attempting the first scholarly edition of

Asser Asser (; ; died 909) was a Welsh monk from St David's, Dyfed, who became Bishop of Sherborne in the 890s. About 885 he was asked by Alfred the Great to leave St David's and join the circle of learned men whom Alfred was recruiting for his c ...

's Life of

Alfred the Great Alfred the Great (alt. Ælfred 848/849 – 26 October 899) was King of the West Saxons from 871 to 886, and King of the Anglo-Saxons from 886 until his death in 899. He was the youngest son of King Æthelwulf and his first wife Osburh, who bot ...

and endeavouring to sift the genuine medieval text from the later additions. He also worked with others on publishing an illustrated edition of the

Junius manuscript The Junius manuscript is one of the four major codices of Old English literature. Written in the 10th century, it contains poetry dealing with Biblical subjects in Old English, the vernacular language of Anglo-Saxon England. Modern editors have ...

, but the cost of production was prohibitive and the plan was not completed. He catalogued the coins in the Bodleian and left his own collection to the Radcliffe Library. He died on 5 October 1767 at Elsfield, where he was buried without a gravestone. A memorial was erected in the church 70 years later by Trinity College.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wise, Francis 1695 births 1767 deaths Alumni of Trinity College, Oxford Fellows of Trinity College, Oxford 18th-century English Anglican priests English antiquarians English numismatists English archivists People educated at New College School Keepers of the Archives of the University of Oxford English librarians