Fawkes, Francis

(1720-1777)

   Born in Warmsworth, Yorkshire, where his father was rector, and educated in Bury, Lancashire, and Jesus College, Cambridge, he graduated M.A. in 1745. He was ordained in the Anglican Church and was chaplain to the Princess Dowager of Wales. It was said that he was too fond of the gay social life to be considered for any serious post. However, he was a fine translator, possibly on a par with Alexander Pope. Although always poor, his cheerful good humor drew many friends to him. Some of his publications: Bramham Park, 1745. Partridge-Shooting, an Eclogue, 1757. The Works of Anacreon, Sappho, Bion, Moschus and Musæus. Translated from the original Greek, 11760, 2nd edition, 1789. Original Poems and Translations, 1761. The Complete Family Bible, 1761. The Poetical Calendar, 1763. The Idylliums of Theocritus, Translated from the Greek, 1767. The Works of Horace in English Verse, by Mr. Duncombe and Other Hands, 1767. The Argonautics of Apollonius Rhodius, 1780. Some of his poems: "The Brown Jug" (which was extremely popular), "The Power of Love," "Hymn to Venus."

   Sources: An Antidote Against Melancholy. Pratt Manufacturing Company, 1884. Dictionary of National Biography. Electronic Edition 1.1. Oxford University Press, 1997. English Poetry. Second Edition Bibliography (http://collections.chadwyck.co.uk/html/ep2/bibliography/d.htm). The Columbia Granger's Index to Poetry. 11th ed. The Columbia Granger's World of Poetry, Columbia University Press, 2005 (http://www.columbiagrangers.org). The Oxford Book of Classical Verse in Translation. Adrian Poole, and Jeremy Maule, ed. 1995.