Frederick James Furnivall (February 4, 1825 - July 2, 1910), English philologist and editor, was born at Egham, Surrey, the son of a surgeon who made his fortune from running the private lunatic asylum at Great Fosters there. February 4 is the 35th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar. ... Events January 4 - King Ferdinand I of the Two Sicilies dies and is succeeded by his son Francis I of the Two Sicilies. ... July 2 is the 183rd day of the year (184th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 182 days remaining. ... 1910 was a common year starting on Saturday (see link for calendar). ... Royal motto: Dieu et mon droit (French: God and my right) Englands location within the UK Official language English de facto Capital London de facto Largest city London Area  - Total Ranked 1st UK 130,395 km² Population  - Total (2001)  - Density Ranked 1st UK 49,138,831 377/km² Religion... Philology is the study of ancient texts and languages. ... Egham is a small town in Surrey in south east England, situated south west of London and close to the M25 London orbital motorway. ... This is about Surrey, England. ... Surgery Surgery is the medical specialty that treats diseases or injuries by operative manual and instrumental treatment. ...

Frederick Furnivall was one of the three founders and the second editor of the OED. He founded a number of learned societies on early English Literature, and made pioneering and massive editorial contributions, of which the most notable was his parallel text Canterbury Tales. He was one of the founders of and teachers at the London Working Men's College and a lifelong campaigner against what he perceived as injustice. Despite his genius, energy, scholarship and enthusiasm his stint as editor of the OED nearly ended the project: for a dictionary maker he hadan unfortunate lack of patience, discipline and accuracy (Winchester 2003; Peterson 2004). The Oxford English Dictionary (OED) is a comprehensive multi-volume dictionary published by the Oxford University Press (OUP). ... Canterbury Tales Woodcut 1484 The Canterbury Tales is a collection of stories written by Geoffrey Chaucer in the 14th century (two of them in prose, the rest in verse). ...

After an undistinguished mathematics degree at Trinity Hall, Cambridge, and Lincoln's Inn, he was called to the bar in 1849 and practiced desultorily until 1870. His inheritance was lost in a financial crash in 1867. In the 1850s became involved in various Christian Socialist schemes and his circle included Charles Kingsley and John Ruskin. It was through this group that he became one of the founders of the Working Men's College, and although he later became agnostic he always retained a connection with the College. He conceived of the college as a classless, democratic community of learning. This conviction that 'scholarship could be pursued by quite ordinary people in a spirit of good-humoured enthusiasm', in the words of Peterson (2004), is the key to understanding his later life. 1849 was a common year starting on Monday (see link for calendar). ... 1870 was a common year starting on Saturday (see link for calendar). ... 1867 was a common year starting on Tuesday (see link for calendar). ... This article is about politics that is a conjunction of Christianity and Socialism. ... Charles Kingsley (July 12, 1819 - January 23, 1875) was an English novelist, particularly associated with the West Country. ... John Ruskin (February 8, 1819 – January 20, 1900) was an English author, poet and artist, although more famous for his work as art critic and social critic. ...

Furnival joined the Philological Society in 1847, and was its Secretary from 1853 almost until his death. From 1861 to 1870 he was the editor of the Oxford English Dictionary until, having lost the sub-editors for A, I, J, N, O, P & W through his irascibility or caprice, he finally resigned. A society in Great Britain dedicated to the study of language. ... 1861 is a common year starting on Tuesday. ... 1870 was a common year starting on Saturday (see link for calendar). ... The Oxford English Dictionary (OED) is a comprehensive multi-volume dictionary published by the Oxford University Press (OUP). ...

Furnival indefatigably promoted the study of early English literature. He founded of a series of literary and philological societies: the Early English Text Society (1864), the Chaucer Society, the Ballad Society (1868), the New Shakspere Society (1873), the Browning Society (1881, with Miss Emily Hickey), the Wyclif Society (1882), and the Shelley Society (1885) (DNB). Some of these, notably the Early English Text Society were very successful: all were characterised by extreme controversy of which the most acrimonous was a bitter dispute between Furnivall and Swinburne about the New Shakspere Society. Swinburne may be A. C. Swinburne the poet Swinburne University of Technnology in Melbourne, Australia Swinburne, Free State in South Africa This is a disambiguation page — a navigational aid which lists other pages that might otherwise share the same title. ...

These societies were primarily textual publishing ventures. Furnivall edited texts for the Early English Text Society, for the Roxburghe Club and the Rolls Series; but his most important labours were devoted to Chaucer. His "Six-Text" edition of the Canterbury Tales was novel in conception and contained full and accurate transcriptions. Modern scholars disagree about his merits as an editor. His work, and that of the amateurs he recruited, was often slapdash, but it was substantial, and it laid the foundation for all subsequent editions. He was one of a small group of Victorian scholars who can bee created with establishing academic study of English literature. Canterbury Tales Woodcut 1484 The Canterbury Tales is a collection of stories written by Geoffrey Chaucer in the 14th century (two of them in prose, the rest in verse). ...

Furnivall was always an enthusiastic oarsman, and till the end kept up his interest in rowing; with John Beesley in 1845 be introduced the new type of narrow sculling boat, and in 1886 started races on the Thames for sculling fours and sculling eights. In 1896 Furnivall founded the Hammersmith Sculling Club, initially for working-class girls, and 'entered into its activities with his usual boyish enthusiasm, for it brought together two of his favourite activities: vigorous outdoor exercise and enjoyment of the company of young women' (Peterson 2004). In 1862 Furnivall married Eleanor Nickel Dalziel (1838?–1937), who Winchester (2003) describes as a lady's maid although this transgressive social status is disputed by the DNB entry. When he was 58, he left her and their one surviving son for a 21 year old secretary named Teena Rochfort-Smith. Two months after his formal separation from Eleanor, Teena Rochfort-Smith was immolated whilst failing to burn correspondence in Goole. Several places exist with the name Thames, and the word is also used as part of several brand and company names Most famous is the River Thames in England, on which the city of London stands Other Thames Rivers There is a Thames River in Canada There is a Thames... 1896 was a leap year starting on Wednesday (see link for calendar). ...

References

• Peterson, William S.. “Furnivall, Frederick James (1825-1910).” In Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, edited by H. C. G. Matthew and Brian Harrison. Oxford: OUP, 2004. http://www.oxforddnb.com/view/article/33298 (accessed January 26, 2005).

• Winchester, Simon. "The Meaning of Everything: the Story of the Oxford English Dictionary". Oxford: OUP, 2003.