Claude Erskine Farrer (15 September 1864 – 16 February 1890) was an English

tennis player Tennis is a List of racket sports, racket sport that is played either individually against a single opponent (singles (tennis), singles) or between two teams of two players each (doubles (tennis), doubles). Each player uses a tennis racket st ...

. He was the second son and third child of four of

Thomas Farrer, 1st Baron Farrer Thomas Henry Farrer, 1st Baron Farrer (24 June 1819 – 11 October 1899), was an English civil servant and statistician. Background and early life Farrer was the son of Thomas Farrer, a solicitor in Lincoln's Inn Fields. Born in London, he was e ...

(who was raised to the peerage but only in 1893 after Claude's death, so Claude was not styled "the Honourable"), and his wife Frances Erskine (1825–1870), daughter of the historian and orientalist William Erskine (1773–1852) and his wife Maitland Mackintosh daughter of James Mackintosh by his first wife. His elder sister was Ida Darwin, his elder brother was Thomas Farrer, 2nd Baron Farrer, his younger brother was

Noel Farrer Noel or Noël may refer to: Christmas * , French for Christmas * Noel is another name for a Christmas carol Places * Noel, Missouri, United States, a city * Noel, Nova Scotia, Canada, a community * Noel Park, a suburb in Greater London, Eng ...

, the civil servant. He was educated at Eton and

Trinity College, Cambridge Trinity College is a Colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Founded in 1546 by King Henry VIII, Trinity is one of the largest Cambridge colleges, with the largest financial endowment of any ...

. He played singles at Wimbledon in 1882 and 1886 but lost in the first round to Ernest Browne (6–0, 6–2, 6–0) in 1882 and Edward J. Avory (6–3, 6–2, 6–2) in 1886. He did better at men's doubles, playing with Arthur Stanley from 1885 to 1887, and Herbert Chipp in 1888. In 1885 Farrer and Stanley reached the final, to lose 6–3, 6–3, 10–8 to the Renshaw brothers,

Ernest Ernest is a given name derived from the Germanic languages, Germanic word ''ernst'', meaning "serious", often shortened to Ernie. Notable people and fictional characters with the name include: People *Archduke Ernest of Austria (1553–1595), ...

and

William William is a masculine given name of Germanic languages, Germanic origin. It became popular in England after the Norman Conquest, Norman conquest in 1066,All Things William"Meaning & Origin of the Name"/ref> and remained so throughout the Middle ...

. Along the way they beat A. Dunn and C. Liddel (6–4, 6–4, 6–4) in the first round, Michael G. McNamara and R. M. Wile (6–2, 4–6, 6–3, 8–6) in the quarter-finals, and Charles Ross and William Taylor (6–3, 8–6, 6–2) in the semi-final. They also reached the challenge round in 1886 (lost 6–3, 6–3, 4–6, 7–5 to the Renshaws) and the quarter finals in 1887 (lost 7–5, 6–2 to Patrick Lyon and

Herbert Wilberforce Sir Herbert William Wrangham Wilberforce (8 February 1864 – 28 March 1941) was a British male tennis player and later vice-president of the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club from 1911 to 1921, and served as its president from 1921 to 19 ...

). Farrer reached the semi-final with Chipp in 1888 (losing to Ernest Meers and Andrew Ziffo 6–2, 7–5, 1–0). He died in 1890, aged only 25.

Grand Slam finals

Doubles (2 runner-ups)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Farrer, Claude 1864 births 1890 deaths English male tennis players British male tennis players People educated at Eton College Alumni of Trinity College, Cambridge Younger sons of barons Place of birth missing