William Francklin (1763–1839) was an English orientalist and army officer.

Education and military career

Francklin was the eldest son of Thomas Francklin, by his wife Miss Venables. He was admitted on the foundation at Westminster in 1777, whence he was elected to

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 ...

, in 1781. Preferring to engage in the profession of arms, he was admitted a cadet in the service of the

East India Company The East India Company (EIC) was an English, and later British, joint-stock company that was founded in 1600 and dissolved in 1874. It was formed to Indian Ocean trade, trade in the Indian Ocean region, initially with the East Indies (South A ...

in 1782, appointed ensign of the 19th regiment of

Bengal Native Infantry The regiments of Bengal Native Infantry, alongside the regiments of Bengal European Infantry, were the regular infantry components of the East India Company's Bengal Army from the raising of the first Native battalion in 1757 to the passing in ...

31 Jan. 1783; lieutenant 20 Oct. 1789; captain in the army 7 June 1796; captain in his regiment 30 Sept. 1803; major in the army 25 April 1808; major in his regiment 29 March 1810; lieutenant-colonel in the army 4 June 1814, and in his regiment on 16 Dec. of the same year. On being invalided, 1 Oct. 1815, he was made regulating officer at

Bhagalpur Bhagalpur, historically known as Champapuri, Champa Nagari, is a city in the Indian state of Bihar, situated on the southern bank of the Ganges river. It is the Bihar#Government and administration, third largest city of Bihar by population and ...

. He retired in India in December 1825, and died 12 April 1839, aged 76.

Career as an orientalist

A distinguished officer, Francklin also enjoyed considerable reputation as an oriental scholar. In 1786 he made a tour in Persia, in the course of which he resided for eight months at

Shiraz Shiraz (; ) is the List of largest cities of Iran, fifth-most-populous city of Iran and the capital of Fars province, which has been historically known as Pars (Sasanian province), Pars () and Persis. As of the 2016 national census, the popu ...

as an inmate of a Persian family, and was thus enabled to communicate a fuller account of the manners of the people than had before appeared. His journal was published as ''Observations made on a Tour from Bengal to Persia in … 1786–7; with a short account of the remains of the … Palace of

Persepolis Persepolis (; ; ) was the ceremonial capital of the Achaemenid Empire (). It is situated in the plains of Marvdasht, encircled by the southern Zagros mountains, Fars province of Iran. It is one of the key Iranian cultural heritage sites and ...

'', 4to, Calcutta, 1788 (reprinted in vol. ix. of John Pinkerton's ''General Collection of Voyages'', 4to, 1808, &c.). A French version, ''Voyage du Bengal à Chyraz'', was published in vols. ii. and iii. of ''Collection portative de voyages traduits de différentes langues orientales'', 12mo, Paris (1797, &c.). His next work, ''The History of the Reign of Shah-Aulum, the present Emperor of Hindostan. … With an Appendix'', 4to, London, 1798, serves as an important continuation of the ''Siyar Ul-Mutakherin'' (View of Modern Times) by Ghulam Husain Tabatabai. Francklin also published: *''The Loves of Camarúpa and Cámalatà, an ancient Indian Tale … translated from the Persian'' (of Tahsin al-Din), 12mo, London, 1793. *''Remarks and Observations on the Plain of Troy, made during an Excursion in June 1799'', 4to, London, 1800. *''Military Memoirs of Mr. George Thomas, who … rose … to the rank of a General in the service of the native powers in … India. … Compiled and arranged from Mr. Thomas's original documents (Appendix)'', 4to, Calcutta, 1803; 8vo, London, 1805. *''Tracts, Political, Geographical, and Commercial; on the dominions of Ava, and the North-Western parts of Hindostaun'', 8vo, London, 1811. *''Miscellaneous Remarks, in two parts: 1st. On Vincent's "Geography of

Susiana Susa ( ) was an ancient city in the lower Zagros Mountains about east of the Tigris, between the Karkheh and Dez Rivers in Iran. One of the most important cities of the Ancient Near East, Susa served as the capital of Elam and the winter ca ...

". 2nd. Supplementary Note on the Site of the ancient City of Palibothra'' (

Pataliputra Pataliputra (IAST: ), adjacent to modern-day Patna, Bihar, was a city in ancient India, originally built by Magadha ruler Ajatashatru in 490 BCE, as a small fort () near the Ganges river.. Udayin laid the foundation of the city of Pataliput ...

), 4to, Calcutta, 1813. *''Inquiry concerning the Site of ancient Palibothra'', &c. 4 pts. 4to, London, 1815–22. *''Researches on the Tenets and Doctrines of the Jeynes and Boodhists; conjectured to be the Brachmanes of ancient India. In which is introduced a discussion on the worship of the serpent in various countries of the world'', 4to, London, 1827. *To vol. iv. of ''Asiatick Researches'' (1795), pp. 419–32, he contributed ''An Account of the present State of Delhi''; while to vol. ii. of ''Miscellaneous Translations from Oriental Languages'', published in 1834 by the Oriental Translation Fund, he furnished an ''Account of the Grand Festival held by the Amír

Timur Timur, also known as Tamerlane (1320s17/18 February 1405), was a Turco-Mongol conqueror who founded the Timurid Empire in and around modern-day Afghanistan, Iran, and Central Asia, becoming the first ruler of the Timurid dynasty. An undefeat ...

… A. H. 803. Translated … from the "Mulfuzat Timuri", or Life of Timur, written by himself''.

Other literary activity

In 1837 he published his father's historical play, ''Mary Queen of Scots''. He maintained a learned correspondence with Dean Vincent, who was second master during the time he was at Westminster; and Francklin was one of the few persons to whom the dean acknowledged obligations in the preface to the ''Periplus'', 1800–5. Francklin was a member, and during the later years of his life librarian and member of the council, of the

Royal Asiatic Society The Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland, commonly known as the Royal Asiatic Society, was established, according to its royal charter of 11 August 1824, to further "the investigation of subjects connected with and for the encourag ...

. He was also a member of the Asiatic Society of Calcutta.

Works

References

*
William Francklin
at

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Francklin, William 1763 births 1839 deaths British orientalists Alumni of Trinity College, Cambridge English Indologists British East India Company Army officers British people in colonial India