William Falconer (21 February 1732 – c. January 1770) was a
Scottish epic
poet
A poet is a person who studies and creates poetry. Poets may describe themselves as such or be described as such by others. A poet may simply be the creator ( thinker, songwriter, writer, or author) who creates (composes) poems (oral or writte ...
concerned mainly with life at sea. He also compiled a dictionary of marine terms.
''Life''
Falconer was the son of a barber in
Edinburgh
Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian ...
, where he was born. He became a sailor, and thereby competent to describe the management of a storm-tossed vessel, whose career and fate are told in his poem, ''The Shipwreck'' (1762),
Victorianweb.org
/ref> a work of genuine, if unequal talent. The efforts Falconer made to improve the poem in a later edition were not wholly successful.
The work won him the patronage of the Duke of York, through whose influence he was appointed purser
A purser is the person on a ship principally responsible for the handling of money on board. On modern merchant ships, the purser is the officer responsible for all administration (including the ship's cargo and passenger manifests) and supply. ...
on various warships. He had himself been one of three survivors of a trading ship on a voyage from Alexandria
Alexandria ( or ; ar, ٱلْإِسْكَنْدَرِيَّةُ ; grc-gre, Αλεξάνδρεια, Alexándria) is the second largest city in Egypt, and the largest city on the Mediterranean coast. Founded in by Alexander the Great, Alexandria ...
to Venice
Venice ( ; it, Venezia ; vec, Venesia or ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto Regions of Italy, region. It is built on a group of 118 small islands that are separated by canals and linked by over 400 ...
.
In 1751 Falconer produced a poem on the death of Frederick, Prince of Wales
Frederick, Prince of Wales, (Frederick Louis, ; 31 January 170731 March 1751), was the eldest son and heir apparent of King George II of Great Britain. He grew estranged from his parents, King George and Queen Caroline. Frederick was the fath ...
. He had also contributed poems to the ''Gentleman's Magazine
''The Gentleman's Magazine'' was a monthly magazine founded in London, England, by Edward Cave in January 1731. It ran uninterrupted for almost 200 years, until 1922. It was the first to use the term ''magazine'' (from the French ''magazine'' ...
''. ''The Shipwreck'' was dedicated to the then rear-admiral the Duke of York
Duke of York is a title of nobility in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. Since the 15th century, it has, when granted, usually been given to the second son of English (later British) monarchs. The equivalent title in the Scottish peerage was Du ...
.
Falconer was briefly a midshipman
A midshipman is an officer of the lowest rank, in the Royal Navy, United States Navy, and many Commonwealth navies. Commonwealth countries which use the rank include Canada (Naval Cadet), Australia, Bangladesh, Namibia, New Zealand, South Afr ...
on the '' Royal George'', then in 1763 he became purser
A purser is the person on a ship principally responsible for the handling of money on board. On modern merchant ships, the purser is the officer responsible for all administration (including the ship's cargo and passenger manifests) and supply. ...
of the frigate
A frigate () is a type of warship. In different eras, the roles and capabilities of ships classified as frigates have varied somewhat.
The name frigate in the 17th to early 18th centuries was given to any full-rigged ship built for speed and ...
'' Glory'', aboard which he wrote the political satire ''Demagogue.'' In 1767 he was purser of the '' Swiftsure''. In 1769 he published ''An Universal Dictionary of the Marine''.
William Falconer was a passenger in the frigate ''Aurora
An aurora (plural: auroras or aurorae), also commonly known as the polar lights, is a natural light display in Earth's sky, predominantly seen in high-latitude regions (around the Arctic and Antarctic). Auroras display dynamic patterns of bri ...
'' when it was lost at sea on a voyage to India.
Later borrowings
Falconer's poems were used by Patrick O'Brian
Patrick O'Brian, Order of the British Empire, CBE (12 December 1914 – 2 January 2000), born Richard Patrick Russ, was an English novelist and translator, best known for his Aubrey–Maturin series of sea novels set in the Royal Navy during t ...
in his Aubrey-Maturin series. One of his lesser characters is a nautical poet, but his poems are Falconer's.
The lines "With living colours give my verse to glow:/The sad memorial of a tale of woe!", from ''The Shipwreck'', Canto I, appeared as a motto for ''Tafereel van de overwintering der Hollanders op Nova Zembla in de jaren 1596 en 1597'' (1820), by the Dutch poet Hendrik Tollens
Henricus Franciscus Caroluszoon (Hendrik) Tollens (24 September 1780 – 21 October 1856) was a Dutch poet best known for ''Wien Neêrlands Bloed
''Wien Neêrlands bloed'' (''Those in whom Dutch blood'') was the national anthem of the Netherlan ...
(1780–1856).
See also
* List of 18th-century British working-class writers
This list focuses on published authors whose working-class status or background was part of their literary reputation. These were, in the main, writers without access to formal education, so they were either autodidacts or had mentors or patrons ...
* List of people who disappeared mysteriously at sea
Throughout history, people have mysteriously disappeared at sea, many on voyages aboard floating vessels or traveling via aircraft. The following is a list of known individuals who have mysteriously vanished in open waters, and whose whereabouts r ...
References
Sources
Gutenberg.org
''The Poetical Works of Beattie, Blair and Falconer'' in Library Edition of the British Poets edited by the Rev. George Gilfillan
__NOTOC__
Rev George Gilfillan (30 January 1813 – 13 August 1878) was a Scottish author and poet. One of the spasmodic poets, Gilfillan was also an editor and commentator, with memoirs, critical dissertations in many editions of earlier Britis ...
*
"William Falconer'
in Oxford 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 ...
External links
*
*
William Falconer
at th
Eighteenth-Century Poetry Archive (ECPA)
(National Library of Australia
The National Library of Australia (NLA), formerly the Commonwealth National Library and Commonwealth Parliament Library, is the largest reference library in Australia, responsible under the terms of the ''National Library Act 1960'' for "mainta ...
)
*
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1732 births
1760s missing person cases
1769 deaths
Maritime writers
People lost at sea
Scottish poets
Shipwreck survivors
Royal Navy officers
Writers from Edinburgh
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