Francis James Child | |
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| Born | February 1, 1825 Boston, Massachusetts, U.S. |
| Died | July 11, 1896 (aged 71) Boston, Massachusetts, U.S. |
| Burial place | "Sedgwick Pie", Stockbridge, Massachusetts |
| Alma mater | Harvard University |
| Occupation(s) | English professor, folklorist |
| Known for | Child Ballads |
| Spouse | Elizabeth Ellery Sedgwick |
Francis James Child (February 1, 1825 – September 11, 1896) was an American scholar, educator, and folklorist, best known today for his collection of English and Scottish ballads now known as the Child Ballads. Child was Boylston professor of rhetoric and oratory at Harvard University, where he produced influential editions of English poetry. In 1876 he was named Harvard's first Professor of English, a position which allowed him to focus on academic research. It was during this time that he began work on the Child Ballads.
The Child Ballads were published in five volumes between 1882 and 1898. While Child was primarily a literary scholar with little interest in the music of the ballads, his work became a major contribution to the study of English-language folk music.[1]
- ^ For a recent assessment of its significance, see the May 14, 2002, review in Musical Traditions by folklorist Ian Olson of the first volume of Mark and Laura F. Heinman's work-in-progress, a newly: Corrected Second Edition of Francis James Child's English and Scottish Popular Ballads .