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James Franck Bright

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James Franck Bright
D.D.
Portrait of James Franck Bright
James Franck Bright, by George Reid
Born(1832-05-29)May 29, 1832
London, England
DiedOctober 23, 1920(1920-10-23) (aged 88)
Ditchingham, Norfolk, England
OccupationHistorian
Known forMastership of University College, Oxford
Board member ofRadcliffe Infirmary (Treasurer);
Oxford City Council[2]
Parent(s)Richard Bright; Eliza Follett
RelativesSir William Webb Follett QC MP; Brent Follett QC MP; Henry Bright MP (uncles)
Academic background
EducationRugby School
Alma materUniversity College, Oxford
Academic work
DisciplineHistory
Sub-disciplineVictorian era; biographies
InstitutionsMarlborough College;
University College, Oxford
Notable worksHistory of Victorian England, "The Growth of Democracy", and biographies of the Holy Roman Empress Maria Theresa and Emperor Joseph II.[1]

James Franck Bright (29 May 1832 – 23 October 1920) was a British historian and Master of University College, Oxford.[3][4]

Early life

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He was born in London, the son of the physician Richard Bright, who described Bright's disease, and Eliza Follett, sister of lawyer-politicians William Webb Follett and Brent Follett. He was educated at Rugby School and at University College, Oxford (matriculated 1851 aged 18, graduated B.A. 1855, M.A. 1858, B.D. and D.D. 1884[5]).

From 1856 to 1872, Bright was a schoolmaster at Marlborough College, where he was Head of the Modern Department, under George Granville Bradley as Master. He wrote the necessary textbooks himself, including "History of England".[6]

University College, Oxford

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Bradley became Master of University College, Oxford in 1870; he recruited Bright[7] as a history tutor there in 1872, tutoring at Balliol, New and University Colleges. Bright became Fellow and Dean of University College in 1874, and succeeded Bradley as Master of University College from 1881 to 1906.

Bright was a progressive leader at Oxford, helping to improve teaching standards and arguing that theological degrees could be awarded to non-members of the Church of England.[8] In 1882, he was one of the first dons of Oxford University to allow women students to attend his lectures, in University College Hall.[2]

In 1890 Bright was shot by Catherine Theresa Riordan in an incident at University College, but survived.[9] Riordan claimed to have been engaged to John Thomas Augustus Haines, junior dean of the college and that the engagement had been broken off because of one of Bright's daughters. Haines resigned his fellowship.[10] Riordan was sentenced to six years' penal servitude for attempted murder.[11]

The Shelley Memorial at University College, opened on 14 June 1893 during the mastership of Franck Bright.[3]

The Shelley Memorial was installed during Bright's mastership, celebrating the life of the poet Percy Bysshe Shelley (1792–1822), an alumnus of University College. At an opening ceremony on 14 June 1893, Lady Jane Shelley, the widow of the poet's son, Sir Percy Shelley, 3rd Baronet (1819–1889), presented the Master with a golden key, giving access to the chamber containing the memorial.[12] Bright described Shelley as "the rebel of eighty years ago", "the hero of the present century", and "a prophet who prophesied good things, and not bad".[8]

Interests and death

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In addition to academic activities, Bright was a member of the Oxford City Council, and Treasurer of the Radcliffe Infirmary.[2]He died at Ditchingham Hall, Norfolk, on 22 October 1920.[13] He was lord of the manor of Brockbury in Colwall, Herefordshire, having inherited the estate by the will of his uncle Henry Bright MP in 1869.[14]

Some of Bright's sermon manuscripts are held in the University College archives.[2]

Family

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In 1864 Bright married Emmeline Theresa Wickham, daughter of Edmund Dawe Wickham (1810–1894), vicar of Holmwood. They had four daughters:[13]

Selected works

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Bright published:[1]

  • English History for the Use of Public Schools
  • Joseph II (1905)[18]
  • Maria Theresa
  • The Growth of Democracy, a history of Victorian England

References

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  1. ^ a b "James Franck Bright (1832–1880)". picturehistory.com. Archived from the original on 6 January 2015. Retrieved 6 January 2014.
  2. ^ a b c d "Papers of James Franck Bright (Master 1881–1906)". University College, Oxford. Retrieved 4 April 2017.
  3. ^ a b Darwall-Smith, Robin (2008). "James Franck Bright and the Healing of Wounds". A History of University College, Oxford. Oxford University Press. pp. 406–422. ISBN 978-0-19-928429-0.
  4. ^ "Bright, James Franck", The Concise Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, 1992.
  5. ^ Foster, Joseph. "Bright, Rev. James Franck" . Alumni Oxonienses  – via Wikisource.
  6. ^ "Bright, James Franck" . Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 31 (12th ed.). 1922.
  7. ^ Sargeaunt, John (1912). "Bradley, George Granville" . In Lee, Sidney (ed.). Dictionary of National Biography (2nd supplement). London: Smith, Elder & Co.
  8. ^ a b Hebron; Denlinger (2010). Shelley's Ghost. p. 23.
  9. ^ Mitchell, Leslie G. (October 1995). "The Shooting of the Master". University College Record. University College, Oxford: 66–69.
  10. ^ Irving, Joseph (1891). The Annals of Our Time ...: pt. 2. 1891, by H.H. Fyfe. Macmillan. p. 146.
  11. ^ "(no title)". South Wales Daily News. 17 November 1890. p. 4. {{cite news}}: Cite uses generic title (help)
  12. ^ Hebron; Denlinger (2010). Shelley's Ghost. p. 15.
  13. ^ a b c Curthoys, M. C. "Bright, James Franck (1832–1920)". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (online ed.). Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/32071. (Subscription or UK public library membership required.)
  14. ^ Burke, Bernard (1895). A Genealogical and Heraldic History of the Colonial Gentry. Vol. 2. London: Harrison & Sons. p. 453. Retrieved 19 August 2019.
  15. ^ "Marriages". Reading Mercury. 24 November 1888. p. 5.
  16. ^ "Marriages". Berkshire Chronicle. 18 January 1902. p. 1.
  17. ^ Grimley, Matthew. "Burge, Hubert Murray (1862–1925)". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (online ed.). Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/32178. (Subscription or UK public library membership required.)
  18. ^ Bright, J. Franck (1905). Joseph II. London: Macmillan & Co. – via Archive.org.

Sources

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Academic offices
Preceded by Master of University College, Oxford
1881–1906 		Succeeded by
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