Francis Hastings Doyle
Encyclopedia
Sir Francis Hastings Charles Doyle, 2nd Baronet (22 August 1810 – 1888) was a British poet
.
, Yorkshire
, to a military family which produced several distinguished officers, including his father, Major-General Sir Francis Hastings Doyle, 1st Baronet, who was created a baronet in 1828. He succeeded to the baronetcy on the death of his father in 1839.
He was educated at Eton
and Christ Church
, Oxford.
Studying law, he was called to the Bar in 1837, and afterwards held various high fiscal appointments, becoming in 1869, Commissioner of Customs. In 1834 he published Miscellaneous Verses, followed by Two Destinies (1844), Oedipus, King of Thebes (1849), and Return of the Guards (1866).
He was elected in 1867 Professor of Poetry
at Oxford. Doyle's best work is his ballads, which include The Red Thread of Honour, The Private of the Buffs
, and The Loss of the Birkenhead. In his longer poems his genuine poetical feeling was not equalled by his power of expression, and much of his poetry is commonplace.
His eldest son Francis Granville Doyle (1846–1882) died of typhoid fever.
Doyle's daughter Mary married Charles Carmichael Lacaita
, MP and botanist.
The baronetcy passed to a younger son Sir Everard Hastings Doyle, 3rd Baronet upon his death, and then later to his other son, Sir Arthur Havelock James Doyle, 4th Baronet.
Poet
A poet is a person who writes poetry. A poet's work can be literal, meaning that his work is derived from a specific event, or metaphorical, meaning that his work can take on many meanings and forms. Poets have existed since antiquity, in nearly all languages, and have produced works that vary...
.
Biography
Doyle was born near TadcasterTadcaster
Tadcaster is a market town and civil parish in the Selby district of North Yorkshire, England. Lying on the Great North Road approximately east of Leeds and west of York. It is the last town on the River Wharfe before it joins the River Ouse about downstream...
, Yorkshire
Yorkshire
Yorkshire is a historic county of northern England and the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its great size in comparison to other English counties, functions have been increasingly undertaken over time by its subdivisions, which have also been subject to periodic reform...
, to a military family which produced several distinguished officers, including his father, Major-General Sir Francis Hastings Doyle, 1st Baronet, who was created a baronet in 1828. He succeeded to the baronetcy on the death of his father in 1839.
He was educated at Eton
Eton College
Eton College, often referred to simply as Eton, is a British independent school for boys aged 13 to 18. It was founded in 1440 by King Henry VI as "The King's College of Our Lady of Eton besides Wyndsor"....
and Christ Church
Christ Church, Oxford
Christ Church or house of Christ, and thus sometimes known as The House), is one of the largest constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England...
, Oxford.
Studying law, he was called to the Bar in 1837, and afterwards held various high fiscal appointments, becoming in 1869, Commissioner of Customs. In 1834 he published Miscellaneous Verses, followed by Two Destinies (1844), Oedipus, King of Thebes (1849), and Return of the Guards (1866).
He was elected in 1867 Professor of Poetry
Oxford Professor of Poetry
The chair of Professor of Poetry at the University of Oxford is an unusual academic appointment, now held for a term of five years, and chosen through an election open to all members of Convocation, namely, all graduates and current academics of the university; in 2010, on-line voting was allowed....
at Oxford. Doyle's best work is his ballads, which include The Red Thread of Honour, The Private of the Buffs
The Private of the Buffs
The Private of the Buffs is a ballad by Sir Francis Hastings Doyle describing the execution of a British infantryman by Chinese soldiers in 1860.-Background:...
, and The Loss of the Birkenhead. In his longer poems his genuine poetical feeling was not equalled by his power of expression, and much of his poetry is commonplace.
Family
In 1844, he married Sydney, daughter of the MP Charles Watkin Williams-Wynn.His eldest son Francis Granville Doyle (1846–1882) died of typhoid fever.
Doyle's daughter Mary married Charles Carmichael Lacaita
Charles Carmichael Lacaita
Charles Carmichael Lacaita was a British botanist and Liberal politician.Lacaita was the only son of Sir James Philip Lacaita and his wife Maria Clavering Gibson-Carmichael daughter of Sir Thomas Gibson-Carmichael. He was educated at Balliol College, Oxford and was called to the bar at Lincoln's...
, MP and botanist.
The baronetcy passed to a younger son Sir Everard Hastings Doyle, 3rd Baronet upon his death, and then later to his other son, Sir Arthur Havelock James Doyle, 4th Baronet.