Francis George Fowler (1871–1918), familiarly known as F. G. Fowler and sometimes Frank Fowler, was an

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ...

writer on English language, grammar and usage. Born in

Tunbridge Wells Royal Tunbridge Wells is a town in Kent, England, southeast of central London. It lies close to the border with East Sussex on the northern edge of the High Weald, whose sandstone geology is exemplified by the rock formation High Rocks. T ...

, F. G. Fowler was educated at

Peterhouse, Cambridge Peterhouse is the oldest constituent college of the University of Cambridge in England, founded in 1284 by Hugh de Balsham, Bishop of Ely. Today, Peterhouse has 254 undergraduates, 116 full-time graduate students and 54 fellows. It is quite ...

. He lived on

Guernsey Guernsey (; Guernésiais: ''Guernési''; french: Guernesey) is an island in the English Channel off the coast of Normandy that is part of the Bailiwick of Guernsey, a British Crown Dependency. It is the second largest of the Channel Islands ...

in the

Channel Islands The Channel Islands ( nrf, Îles d'la Manche; french: îles Anglo-Normandes or ''îles de la Manche'') are an archipelago in the English Channel, off the French coast of Normandy. They include two Crown Dependencies: the Bailiwick of Jersey, ...

. He and his older brother, Henry Watson Fowler, wrote ''

The King's English ''The King's English'' is a book on English usage and grammar. It was written by the brothers Henry Watson Fowler and Francis George Fowler and published in 1906; it thus predates by twenty years '' Modern English Usage'', which was written by ...

'' together, an influential book published in 1906. Later they worked on what became ''

Fowler's Modern English Usage ''A Dictionary of Modern English Usage'' (1926), by Henry Watson Fowler (1858–1933), is a style guide to British English usage, pronunciation, and writing. Covering topics such as plurals and literary technique, distinctions among like wor ...

'', but before it was finished, Francis died of

tuberculosis Tuberculosis (TB) is an infectious disease usually caused by '' Mycobacterium tuberculosis'' (MTB) bacteria. Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs, but it can also affect other parts of the body. Most infections show no symptoms, ...

, picked up during his service with the British Expeditionary Force in World War I. He was 47 years old. Henry dedicated ''Modern English Usage'' to Francis, writing, "he had a nimbler wit, a better sense of proportion, and a more open mind, than his twelve-year-older partner."

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* * 1871 births 1918 deaths 20th-century deaths from tuberculosis English non-fiction writers Guernsey writers Alumni of Peterhouse, Cambridge English male non-fiction writers British Army personnel of World War I Tuberculosis deaths in England {{UK-nonfiction-writer-stub