Papers of Francis James Child

Francis James Child (1825-1896), Boylston Professor of Rhetoric and Oratory and Harvard’s first professor of English, taught rhetoric, oratory, elocution, and English at Harvard College from 1851 until his death in 1896. He graduated first in his class from Harvard in 1846, then became a College tutor in mathematics, history, political economy, and English. In 1849, he took a leave of absence from the college to travel and study in Germany, which later led to his receiving a PhD from the University at Göttingen. After returning to the United States in 1851, Child was offered the position of Boylston Professor of Rhetoric and Oratory at Harvard.

In 1876, Harvard president Charles William Eliot created the position of English professor especially for Child so that he would have more time to conduct his own research. Throughout his career, Child published many influential works, the most popular being, English and Scottish Ballads, which contains authentic versions of 305 ballads from the United Kingdom. The work appeared in print in eight small volumes between 1857 and 1858. He also edited the works of Edmund Spenser and contributed significant scholarship on the works of Geoffrey Chaucer.

During the Civil War, Child canceled classes to canvass for Abraham Lincoln. Unable to fight due to poor health, he composed and collected patriotic war songs in support of Union soldiers. He received an LLD from Harvard in 1884 and an LHD from Columbia University in 1887. Child died in 1896.