MacInnes-1890-Folk and Hero Tales-frontis-Campbell of Islay

John Francis Campbell (

Scottish Gaelic Scottish Gaelic ( gd, Gàidhlig ), also known as Scots Gaelic and Gaelic, is a Goidelic language (in the Celtic branch of the Indo-European language family) native to the Gaels of Scotland. As a Goidelic language, Scottish Gaelic, as well as ...

: Iain Frangan Caimbeul; Islay, 29 December 1821 –

Cannes Cannes ( , , ; oc, Canas) is a city located on the French Riviera. It is a commune located in the Alpes-Maritimes department, and host city of the annual Cannes Film Festival, Midem, and Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity. The ...

, 17 February 1885), also known as Young John of Islay (

: Iain Òg Ìle) was a Scottish author and scholar who specialised in Celtic studies, considered an authority on the subject.

Early life

John Francis Campbell was born on Islay on 29 December 1821 to Lady Eleanor Charteris (1796–1832), eldest daughter of Francis Wemyss Charteris Douglas, and

Walter Frederick Campbell Walter Frederick Campbell of Shawfield (sometimes given "of Islay") (1798–1855), was a Scottish politician. He served as the MP for Argyllshire, 1822–1832 and 1835–1841. Early life and political career He was born on 10 April 1798, the ...

of Islay (1798–1855), MP for Argyll. Campbell was a descendant (great-great-great-grandson) of Daniel Campbell of Shawfield who had bought Islay from the Campells of Cawdor, for £12,000 in 1726. Campbell was his father's heir, but creditors forced the island of Islay into administration, and the family left in 1847. After his father's death he was known as Campbell of Islay, even though the island had by then been sold.

Education and early career

Campbell was educated at Eton and the

University of Edinburgh The University of Edinburgh ( sco, University o Edinburgh, gd, Oilthigh Dhùn Èideann; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in post-nominals) is a public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Granted a royal charter by King James VI in 1 ...

. He was called to the

bar Bar or BAR may refer to: Food and drink * Bar (establishment), selling alcoholic beverages * Candy bar * Chocolate bar Science and technology * Bar (river morphology), a deposit of sediment * Bar (tropical cyclone), a layer of cloud * Bar ( ...

at the

Inner Temple The Honourable Society of the Inner Temple, commonly known as the Inner Temple, is one of the four Inns of Court and is a professional associations for barristers and judges. To be called to the Bar and practise as a barrister in England and ...

1851, and appointed private secretary to the Lord Privy Seal in 1853. He was assistant secretary to the

General Board of Health Local boards or local boards of health were local authorities in urban areas of England and Wales from 1848 to 1894. They were formed in response to cholera epidemics and were given powers to control sewers, clean the streets, regulate environmenta ...

in 1854, he became secretary to the Trinity House Royal Commission of Lighthouses in London 1859. In 1861 he was Groom of the Privy Chamber.

Celtic studies

Campbell was known as an authority on Celtic folklore and of the Gaelic peoples. His most well-known published work is the bilingual '' Popular Tales of the West Highlands'' (4 vols., 1860–62) He dedicated ''Popular Tales of the West Highlands'' to the son of my Chief, the

Marquess of Lorne A marquess (; french: marquis ), es, marqués, pt, marquês. is a nobleman of high hereditary rank in various European peerages and in those of some of their former colonies. The German language equivalent is Markgraf (margrave). A woman ...

. In 1872 he self-published ''Leabhar na Feinne'', a collection of heroic ballads culled from manuscripts held by libraries, but to his chagrin this endeavor failed to meet with success. He travelled extensively throughout the

Scottish Highlands The Highlands ( sco, the Hielands; gd, a’ Ghàidhealtachd , 'the place of the Gaels') is a historical region of Scotland. Culturally, the Highlands and the Lowlands diverged from the Late Middle Ages into the modern period, when Lowland S ...

and Islands with his scribes, scrupulously recording West Highland tales,

Fenian The word ''Fenian'' () served as an umbrella term for the Irish Republican Brotherhood (IRB) and their affiliate in the United States, the Fenian Brotherhood, secret political organisations in the late 19th and early 20th centuries dedicate ...

ballads, songs, charms and anecdotes. He was proficient in

Gaelic Gaelic is an adjective that means "pertaining to the Gaels". As a noun it refers to the group of languages spoken by the Gaels, or to any one of the languages individually. Gaelic languages are spoken in Ireland, Scotland, the Isle of Man, an ...

, Danish, Norwegian, Swedish, Lapp, Italian, Spanish and German. He travelled extensively, especially in Europe and Scandinavia. In 1874 he embarked on a year-long world tour that took him to America, Japan, China, Java, Ceylon and India. ''The Celtic Dragon Myth'' was published posthumously in 1911. Campbell had started preliminary work on ''The Celtic Dragon Myth'' in 1862, and work intensified on it from 1870 until 1884. After Campbell's death in 1885 the noted Gaelic scholar George Henderson contributed some translation work, provided an introduction, and completed the editing of the manuscript for its eventual publication in 1911.

Inventions

Campbell held a lifelong interest in the sciences, especially geology and

meteorology Meteorology is a branch of the atmospheric sciences (which include atmospheric chemistry and physics) with a major focus on weather forecasting. The study of meteorology dates back millennia, though significant progress in meteorology did no ...

. He invented the meteorological sunshine recorder or

thermograph A thermo-hygrograph or hygrothermograph is a chart recorder that measures and records both temperature and humidity (or dew point). Similar devices that record only one parameter are a thermograph for temperature and hygrograph for humidity. Th ...

that bears his name as the Campbell–Stokes recorder.

Visit to Japan

Campbell was acquainted with Colin Alexander McVean, a Scottish engineer hired by Japan's Public Works as chief surveyor, and visited sights around Tokyo with McVean at the end of 1874, including Nikko. During the observation of the

Venus transit frameless, upright=0.5 A transit of Venus across the Sun takes place when the planet Venus passes directly between the Sun and a superior planet, becoming visible against (and hence obscuring a small portion of) the solar disk. During a transi ...

by the Meiji government on 9 December 1874, he superintended a theodolite on the Gotenyama Hill site in Tokyo. He travelled through the central part of

Honshu , historically called , is the largest and most populous island of Japan. It is located south of Hokkaidō across the Tsugaru Strait, north of Shikoku across the Inland Sea, and northeast of Kyūshū across the Kanmon Straits. The island s ...

Kyoto Kyoto (; Japanese: , ''Kyōto'' ), officially , is the capital city of Kyoto Prefecture in Japan. Located in the Kansai region on the island of Honshu, Kyoto forms a part of the Keihanshin metropolitan area along with Osaka and Kobe. , the c ...

, then left Japan from

Kobe Kobe ( , ; officially , ) is the capital city of Hyōgo Prefecture Japan. With a population around 1.5 million, Kobe is Japan's seventh-largest city and the third-largest port city after Tokyo and Yokohama. It is located in Kansai region, whi ...

in February 1875. He bought Japanese antiques and showed them in London to friends including Frank Dillion.

Later life

He is buried under a replica of Islay's treasured

Kildalton Cross The Kildalton Cross is a monolithic high cross in Celtic cross form in the churchyard of the former parish church of Kildalton (from Scottish Gaelic ''Cill Daltain'', "Church of the Foster Son" (i.e. St John the Evangelist) on the island of Isla ...

in the Grand Jas Cemetery (le cimetière "du Grand Jas") at

. Campbell never married.

References

;Citations {{reflist, 30em, refs= {{citation, author=Anon. , title=Death of John F. Campbell of Islay , journal=The Celtic Magazine , volume=10 , date=1885 , url=https://books.google.com/books?id=BcARAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA249 , pages=249–250 {{Cite EB1911, wstitle=Campbell, John Francis, noicon=x {{Cite SBDEL, wstitle=Campbell, John Francis, noicon=x ;Bibliography {{refbegin * {{citation, last=Bennett , first=Margaret , author-link=Margaret Bennett (writer) , title=John Francis Campbell of Islay: Iain Og Ile , journal=Journal of the Clan Campbell Society , number=29 , date=2002 , url=https://books.google.com/books?id=4U0ZAQAAMAAJ&q=%22iain+og%22 , pages=11–13 * {{citation, last=Thompson , first=Francis , author-link=Francis Thompson , title=John Francis Campbell (1821-1885) , journal=Folklore , volume=101 , number=1 , date=1990 , url= , pages=88–96 , doi=10.1080/0015587X.1990.9715781 , jstor=1259886 {{refend

External links

{{Commons category-inline {{refbegin
A Short Biography of John Francis CampbellAn Article on John Francis Campbell's Life
{{refend {{Authority control {{DEFAULTSORT:Campbell, John Francis 1822 births 1885 deaths Collectors of fairy tales 19th-century Scottish writers People from Islay Scottish Gaelic language Translators from Scottish Gaelic 19th-century British translators People educated at Eton College Alumni of the University of Edinburgh Scottish lawyers Scottish folk-song collectors Scottish folklorists 19th-century musicologists