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Frank Linsly James FRGS (21 April 1851 – 21 April 1890) was an English explorer. He was the son of American parents: Liverpool-based merchant Daniel James and Sophia Hall (Hitchcock) James.
He was born and raised in Liverpool; the 1861 census shows him living at his parents' home of Oakwood House, Elmswood Road, 
His writing was not without humour and in ''The Unknown Horn of Africa'' (p. 20), when seeking advice from British Agent Langton Prendergast Walsh on how best to procure camels and handlers for the expedition, he recalls: "Well, I felt I was nowhere and nohow. Berbera is hot place, and the superior physique of Mr. Walsh was beginning to tell; his energy and emphasis were oppressing without impressing me, and seemed to increase, as though he were receiving all I was losing. Another minute and I might have abandoned hope; but he paused for breath and Dualla shot in to the rescue". Obviously not amused, forty-two years later Walsh devoted a chapter in his book ''Under the Flag - and Somali Coast Stories'' to the James expedition. He considers that he had been "held up to obloquy for my actions and attitude towards the James party". He is critical of the way the expedition was organised, and writes that he had to intervene to prevent the party being "wiped out and looted".
Frank James is commemorated in the name of the
File:Frank James Plaque.jpg, Commemorative plaque St Andrew's Church; West Dean; West Sussex UK
File:Frank James Memorial Hospital.jpg,
James, Frank Linsly (1851-1890), explorer in Africa
by Thomas Seccombe rev. Elizabeth Baigent in
Aigburth
Aigburth () is a suburb of Liverpool, England. Located to the south of the city, it is bordered by Dingle, Garston, Mossley Hill, and Toxteth.
Etymology
The name Aigburth comes from Old Norse ''eik'' and ''berg'', meaning ''oak-tree hill''. T ...
, Liverpool. The 1871 census shows him again living at his parents' home, but now at Beaconsfield House, Woolton, occupation "Under Graduate, Cambridge". In 1890 his home was 14 Great Stanhope Street in the county of Middlesex.
James explored in Sudan, Somalia, India and Mexico often using his private yacht ''Lancashire Witch'', often accompanied by one or both of his brothers – John Arthur James and William (Willie) Dodge James. After Frank's death Willie James used the ''Lancashire Witch'' for a period. The yacht was formerly owned by Sir Thomas Hesketh. In 1894 the ''Lancashire Witch'' was purchased by the Admiralty and became the survey vessel HMS ''Waterwitch''.
Frank James wrote ''Wild Tribes of the Sudan'' (1883) and ''The Unknown Horn of Africa'' (1888). He was killed in Gabon, West Africa by a wounded elephant. He was buried in Kensal Green Cemetery, exhumed in 1917 and re-interred in the family plot at West Dean, West Sussex.
His writing was not without humour and in ''The Unknown Horn of Africa'' (p. 20), when seeking advice from British Agent Langton Prendergast Walsh on how best to procure camels and handlers for the expedition, he recalls: "Well, I felt I was nowhere and nohow. Berbera is hot place, and the superior physique of Mr. Walsh was beginning to tell; his energy and emphasis were oppressing without impressing me, and seemed to increase, as though he were receiving all I was losing. Another minute and I might have abandoned hope; but he paused for breath and Dualla shot in to the rescue". Obviously not amused, forty-two years later Walsh devoted a chapter in his book ''Under the Flag - and Somali Coast Stories'' to the James expedition. He considers that he had been "held up to obloquy for my actions and attitude towards the James party". He is critical of the way the expedition was organised, and writes that he had to intervene to prevent the party being "wiped out and looted".
Frank James is commemorated in the name of the three-streaked tchagra
The three-streaked tchagra (''Tchagra jamesi'') is a species of bird in the family Malaconotidae, which is an uncommon resident of semi-desert regions in the eastern Afrotropics. The binomial of this bird commemorates the explorer Frank Linsly ...
(''Tchagra jamesi'') and the Frank James Hospital
The Frank James Hospital is a currently closed hospital in Adelaide Grove, East Cowes on the Isle of Wight. It was sold by the NHS Trust in 2002 and since then, it has had ownership issues, which has led to its vandalism and disrepair. The buildi ...
, East Cowes, Isle of Wight.
Frank James Hospital
The Frank James Hospital is a currently closed hospital in Adelaide Grove, East Cowes on the Isle of Wight. It was sold by the NHS Trust in 2002 and since then, it has had ownership issues, which has led to its vandalism and disrepair. The buildi ...
in 1903
File:The Lancashire Witch.JPG, "Lancashire Witch" wind vane on Frank James Hospital, East Cowes, Isle of Wight
File:Lancashire Witch Yacht.jpg, Lloyd's yacht register 1889–1890
File:Lancashire Witch yacht2.jpg, Lancashire Witch purchased by the Admiralty
File:Grave of Frank Linsly James.jpg, Grave in West Dean Cemetery. The remains of F L James moved from Kensal Green Cemetery in 1917.
File:Memorial to Frank Linsly James in Kensal Green Cemetery.jpg, Memorial to Frank Linsly James in Kensal Green Cemetery
References
External links
James, Frank Linsly (1851-1890), explorer in Africa
by Thomas Seccombe rev. Elizabeth Baigent in
Dictionary of National Biography
The ''Dictionary of National Biography'' (''DNB'') is a standard work of reference on notable figures from British history, published since 1885. The updated ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'' (''ODNB'') was published on 23 September ...
{{DEFAULTSORT:James, Frank Linsly
1851 births
1890 deaths
Deaths due to elephant attacks
English explorers
Fellows of the Royal Geographical Society
Burials at Kensal Green Cemetery
People from Aigburth