Detail of portrait of Eleanor Anne Porden, by Mary Ann Flaxman

Eleanor Anne Porden (July 14, 1795-February 22, 1825) was a British Romantic poet and the first wife of the explorer John Franklin. July 14 is the 195th day (196th in leap years) of the year in the Gregorian Calendar, with 170 days remaining. ... 1795 was a common year starting on Thursday (see link for calendar). ... February 22 is the 53rd day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar. ... 1825 was a common year starting on Saturday (see link for calendar). ... Romanticism was a secular and intellectual movement that originated in late 18th century Western Europe. ... Sir John Franklin FRGS (April 15, 1786 – June 11, 1847) was an English sea captain and Arctic explorer whose expedition disappeared while attempting to chart and navigate the Northwest Passage in the Canadian Arctic. ...

She was born in London, the younger surviving daughter of the architect William Porden and his wife Mary Plowman. (Another sister and brother had died in infancy.) Her mother was an invalid, and after her older sister's marriage, she nursed her from 1809 until her death in 1819. London (pronounced ) is the capital city of England and the United Kingdom. ... For other uses, see Architect (disambiguation). ... William Porden (c. ... 1809 was a common year starting on Sunday (see link for calendar). ... 1819 common year starting on Friday (see link for calendar). ...

An intelligent young woman, educated privately at home, and interested in the arts and sciences, Porden attracted attention for her poetry from an early age. Her first major work, the allegorical The Veils; or the Triumph of Constancy, was published in 1815, when she was just twenty - although she had written it at the age of sixteen. She prefaced it with an introduction which gives a clear indication of her interests and education: An allegory (from Greek αλλος, allos, other, and αγορευειν, agoreuein, to speak in public) is a figurative mode of representation conveying a meaning other than (and in addition to) the literal. ... The Battle of New Orleans 1815 was a common year starting on Sunday (see link for calendar). ...

The author, who considers herself a pupil of the Royal Institution, being at that time attending the Lectures given in Albemarle-Street, on Chemistry, Geology, Natural History, and Botany, by Sir Humphry Davy, Mr. Brand, Dr. Roger (sic, for Roget), Sir James Edward Smith, and other eminent men, she was induced to combine these subjects with her story; and though her knowledge of them was in a great measure orally acquired, and therefore cannot pretend to be extensive or profound, yet, as it was derived from the best teachers, she hopes it will seldom be found incorrect.

In 1818, she met her future husband, John Franklin, on board his ship, HMS Trent, before his departure on David Buchan's British Naval North Polar Expedition. This inspired a short poem, The Arctic Expeditions. The Royal Institution of Great Britain was set up in 1799 by the leading British scientists of the age, including Henry Cavendish and its first president George Finch, the 9th Earl of Winchilsea, for diffusing the knowledge, and facilitating the general introduction, of useful mechanical inventions and improvements; and for... Chemistry (from the Greek word χημεία (chemeia) meaning cast together or pour together) is the science of matter at the atomic to molecular scale, dealing primarily with collections of atoms (such as molecules, crystals, and metals). ... The Blue Marble: The famous photo of the Earth taken en route to the Moon by Apollo 17s Harrison Schmitt on December 7, 1972. ... Table of natural history, 1728 Cyclopaedia Natural history is an umbrella term for what are now usually viewed as several distinct scientific disciplines. ... Pinguicula grandiflora Botany is the scientific study of plantlife. ... Please wikify (format) this article or section as suggested in the Guide to layout and the Manual of Style. ... William Thomas Brande (January 11, 1788 - February 11, 1866), English chemist, was born in London. ... Peter Mark Roget (January 18, 1779–September 12, 1869) studied medicine at the University of Edinburgh and became a distinguished physician and lexicographer. ... For the mayor of Toronto by this name please see James Edward Smith (Toronto). ... 1818 (MDCCCXVIII) is a common year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar or a common year starting on Saturday of the 12-day slower Julian calendar. ... Sir John Franklin FRGS (April 15, 1786 – June 11, 1847) was an English sea captain and Arctic explorer whose expedition disappeared while attempting to chart and navigate the Northwest Passage in the Canadian Arctic. ... David Buchan (1780 – sometime after 8 December 1838) was a British naval officer and Arctic explorer. ...

During Franklin's absence, she researched and wrote a historical epic poem, Cœur de Lion, or The Third Crusade. A poem, in sixteen books. This was published in two volumes in 1822, with a dedication to the king, George IV. Based on a considerable historical research, it recounts the adventures of Richard I of England on the Third Crusade. Other prominent characters include Guy of Lusignan, Isabella of Jerusalem (portrayed as a femme fatale), and Conrad of Montferrat, whom she depicts as a tragic hero, in contrast with his hostile treatment by her contemporary Walter Scott in The Talisman. Indeed, despite some fanciful romantic episodes, her poem is far more respectful of documented history than Scott's better-known novel. Her sources included the works of Joseph François Michaud and Charles Mills. The epic is a broadly defined genre of poetry, and one of the major forms of narrative literature. ... 1822 (MDCCCXXII) was a common year starting on Tuesday (see link for calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Thursday of the 12-day-slower Julian calendar). ... George IV King of the United Kingdom George IV (George Augustus Frederick) (12 August 1762–26 June 1830) was King of the United Kingdom and Hanover from 29 January 1820. ... Richard I (September 8, 1157 – April 6, 1199) was King of England from 1189 to 1199. ... The Third Crusade (1189–1192) was an attempt by European leaders to reconquer the Holy Land from Saladin. ... Guy of Lusignan (c. ... Isabella of Jerusalem (c. ... Conrad of Montferrat (c. ... Portrait of Sir Walter Scott, by Sir Edwin Henry Landseer Sir Walter Scott, 1st Baronet (15 August 1771 – 21 September 1832) was a prolific Scottish historical novelist and poet popular throughout Europe during his time. ... Joseph François Michaud (June 19, 1767 - September 30, 1839) was a French historian and publicist. ... Charles Mills was a English scholar. ...

Also in 1822, her father died, and Franklin returned from the Arctic. She married him on August 19, 1823. She made her acceptance of his proposal conditional on his acceptance of her continuing her career as a poet after their marriage. She wrote to him six months before the wedding: The red line indicates the 10°C isotherm in July, commonly used to define the Arctic region border Satellite image of the Arctic surface The Arctic is the area around the Earths North Pole, opposite the Antarctican area around the South Pole. ... August 19 is the 231st day of the year (232nd in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar. ... 1823 was a common year starting on Wednesday (see link for calendar). ...

it was the pleasure of Heaven to bestow those talents on me, and it was my father's pride to cultivate them to the utmost of his power. I should therefore be guilty of a double dereliction of duty in abandoning their exercise.

She gave birth to their daughter, Eleanor Isabella, on June 3, 1824. Childbirth accelerated the advance of the tuberculosis from which she suffered, and she died on February 22, 1825, aged twenty-nine. She had encouraged her husband not let his concerns for her health impede his career, and he had set off on the second Arctic Land expedition shortly before her death. On his return, he married her friend Jane Griffin. June 3 is the 154th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (155th in leap years), with 211 days remaining. ... 1824 was a leap year starting on Thursday (see link for calendar). ... It has been suggested that Antituberculant be merged into this article or section. ... February 22 is the 53rd day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar. ... 1825 was a common year starting on Saturday (see link for calendar). ... Lady Jane Franklin (4 December 1791 – 18 July 1875), was an early Tasmanian pioneer, traveller and wife of John Franklin. ...

Works Available Online

• The Veils; or the Triumph of Constancy (British Women Romantic Poets Project)

Sources and Further Reading

• Gell, Edith Mary, John Franklin's Bride (1930).
• Sutherland, Kathryn, "Eleanor Anne Porden", Oxford Dictionary of National Biography.