'''Francis Andrew March''' (October_25, 1825–September_9, 1911) 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. ==Sources== *Encyclopaedia Britannica: Francis March *Lafayette: Academic News *Simon_Winchester, ''The_Meaning_of_Everything'' (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2003). March, Francis March, Francis March, Francis March, Francis March, Francis March, Francis