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Information about Francis March

Francis Andrew March (October 25, 1825 in Millbury, Massachusetts –September 9, 1911 in Easton, Pennsylvania) was an American polymath, academic, philologist, and lexicographer. He is considered the principal founder of modern comparative linguistics in Anglo-Saxon. March applied the methods of studying the Latin and Greek classics towards the study of English literature, and led the way for the first scientific study of the English language.

Born in Millbury, Massachusetts, March occupied the chair of English language and comparative philology at Lafayette College (located in Easton, Pennsylvania) from 1857 to 1907. It was the first post of its kind. March was one of the first professors to advocate and teach English in colleges and universities.

Amongst other subjects taught botany, French, German, Greek, Latin, "mental philosophy", political economy, the Constitution, and law.

He also served as president of the American Philological Association (1873-1874; 1895-1896); the Spelling Reform Association (after 1876); and of the Modern Language Association (1891-1893).

Works

  • In 1870, March published A Comparative Grammar of the Anglo-Saxon Language (reprinted, 1977). Based on ten years of intensive research, the work examines the relationship of Anglo-Saxon to Sanskrit, Greek, Latin, and five Germanic languages.
  • March served as editor of the Douglass Series of Christian Greek and Latin Writers, to which he contributed Latin Hymns.
  • In 1881, he wrote The Spelling Reform, a contribution to the reform of English orthography.
  • With his son Francis Andrew March (1863–1928), he edited A Thesaurus Dictionary of the English Language (1903; 2nd ed., 1980).
  • He was the first American superintendent over the volunteer reading programme of the Oxford English Dictionary, thus providing valuable support to James Murray in the compilation of this monumental work.

Death and Legacy

March died at Easton, Pennsylvania. A chaired professorship now exists at Lafayette College to honor his achievements in the field of English.

Francis A. March Elementary School, near the Lafayette Campus, is named in his honor.

Sources

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Millbury, Massachusetts
The Torrey House
Location in Worcester County in Massachusetts
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Country United States
State Massachusetts
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Easton, Pennsylvania

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Northampton County's location in Pennsylvania
Easton's location in Northampton County
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Motto
"In God We Trust"   (since 1956)
"E Pluribus Unum"   ("From Many, One"; Latin, traditional)
Anthem
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polymath (Greek polymathēs, πολυμαθής, "having learned much")[1][2] is a person with encyclopedic, broad, or varied knowledge or learning.
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Philology, etymologically, is the "love of words". It is most accurately defined as "an affinity toward the learning of the backgrounds as well as the current usages of spoken or written methods of human communication".
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''For the term in mathematics, see Lexicographical order
The pursuit of lexicography is divided into two related disciplines:
  • Practical lexicography is the art or craft of compiling, writing and editing dictionaries.

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Comparative linguistics (originally comparative philology) is a branch of historical linguistics that is concerned with comparing languages in order to establish their historical relatedness. Languages may be related by convergence through borrowing or by genetic descent.
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Old English/Anglo-Saxon}}}
Language codes
ISO 639-1: none
ISO 639-2: ang
ISO 639-3: ang Old English (also called Anglo-Saxon[1], Englisc
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Latin}}} 
Official status
Official language of: Vatican City
Used for official purposes, but not spoken in everyday speech
Regulated by: Opus Fundatum Latinitas
Roman Catholic Church
Language codes
ISO 639-1: la
ISO 639-2: lat
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Greek}}} 
Writing system: Greek alphabet 
Official status
Official language of:  Greece
 Cyprus
 European Union
recognised as minority language in parts of:
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 Turkey
Regulated by:
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The term English literature refers to literature written in the English language, including literature composed in English by writers not necessarily from England; Joseph Conrad was Polish, Robert Burns was Scottish, James Joyce was Irish, Dylan Thomas was Welsh, Edgar Allan Poe
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English}}} 
Writing system: Latin (English variant) 
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Official language of: 53 countries
Regulated by: no official regulation
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ISO 639-1: en
ISO 639-2: eng
ISO 639-3: eng  
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Millbury, Massachusetts
The Torrey House
Location in Worcester County in Massachusetts
Coordinates:
Country United States
State Massachusetts
County Worcester
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English}}} 
Writing system: Latin (English variant) 
Official status
Official language of: 53 countries
Regulated by: no official regulation
Language codes
ISO 639-1: en
ISO 639-2: eng
ISO 639-3: eng  
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Historical linguistics (also diachronic linguistics) is the study of language change. It has five main concerns:
  • to describe and account for observed changes in particular languages;

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Lafayette College is a private coeducational liberal arts college located in Easton, Pennsylvania, USA. The school, founded in 1826 by citizens of Easton, first began holding classes in 1832.
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Easton, Pennsylvania

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Northampton County's location in Pennsylvania
Easton's location in Northampton County
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State
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English}}} 
Writing system: Latin (English variant) 
Official status
Official language of: 53 countries
Regulated by: no official regulation
Language codes
ISO 639-1: en
ISO 639-2: eng
ISO 639-3: eng  
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Botany is the scientific study of plant life. As a branch of biology, it is also called plant science(s), phytology, or plant biology. Botany covers a wide range of scientific disciplines that study plants, algae, and fungi including: structure, growth,
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French (français, pronounced [fʁɑ̃ˈsɛ]) is a Romance language originally spoken in France, Belgium, Luxembourg, and Switzerland, and today by about 300 million people around the world as either
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German language (Deutsch, ] (help info ) ) is a West Germanic language and one of the world's major languages.
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Greek}}} 
Writing system: Greek alphabet 
Official status
Official language of:  Greece
 Cyprus
 European Union
recognised as minority language in parts of:
 European Union
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 Turkey
Regulated by:
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Latin}}} 
Official status
Official language of: Vatican City
Used for official purposes, but not spoken in everyday speech
Regulated by: Opus Fundatum Latinitas
Roman Catholic Church
Language codes
ISO 639-1: la
ISO 639-2: lat
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Philosophy of mind is the branch of philosophy that studies the nature of the mind, mental events, mental functions, mental properties, consciousness and their relationship to the physical body. The mind-body problem, i.e.
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