James Franck Bright

The Shelley Memorial at University College, opened on 14 June 1893 during the mastership of Franck Bright.[1]

James Franck Bright (29 May 1832 – 23 October 1920) was a British historian and Master of University College, Oxford.[1][2]

Biography

Franck Bright was born in London, England, the son of the physician Richard Bright. He was educated at Rugby and University College, Oxford,[3] (he gained an Oxford Master of Arts {MA Oxon} in 1851 and a Doctor of Divinity {DD}) and was then a schoolmaster at Marlborough College, where he was Head of the Modern Department for sixteen years. Bright became a history tutor at Balliol College in 1872, Dean of University College in 1874, and Master of University College from 1881 to 1906. He died at Ditchingham, Norfolk, UK.

Bright wrote a history of Victorian England, "The Growth of Democracy", and a biography of Joseph II, Holy Roman Emperor.[4] He was a progressive leader at Oxford, helping to improve teaching standards and arguing that theological degrees could be awarded to non-members of the Church of England.[5] In 1882, Bright was one of the first dons at Oxford University to allow women students to attend his lectures, in University College Hall.[6]

In addition to academic activities, Bright was a member of the Oxford City Council, and Treasurer of the Radcliffe Infirmary.[6] He was also shot by a lady in an incident at University College, but survived.[7]

The Shelley Memorial was installed during Bright's mastership, celebrating the life of the poet Percy Bysshe Shelley (1792–1822), an alumnus of University College. At an opening ceremony on 14 June 1893, Lady Jane Shelley, the widow of the poet's son Percy Florence Shelley (1819–1889), presented the Master with a golden key, giving access to the chamber containing the memorial.[8] Bright described Shelley as "the rebel of eighty years ago", "the hero of the present century", and "a prophet who prophesied good things, and not bad".[5]

Some of Bright's sermon manuscripts are held in the University College archives.[6]

Selected works

  • English History for the Use of Public Schools
  • Joseph II (1905)[9]
  • Maria Theresa
  • The Growth of Democracy

References

  1. 1 2 Darwall-Smith, Robin (2008). "James Franck Bright and the Healing of Wounds". A History of University College, Oxford. Oxford University Press. pp. 406–422. ISBN 978-0-19-928429-0.
  2. ↑ "Bright, James Franck", The Concise Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, 1992.
  3. ↑ Bickerton, Fred, Fred of Oxford. London: Evans Brothers Limited, 1953, pages 130–131.
  4. ↑ "James Franck Bright (1832–1880)". picturehistory.com. Archived from the original on 6 January 2015. Retrieved 6 January 2014.
  5. 1 2 Hebron; Denlinger (2010). Shelley's Ghost. p. 23.
  6. 1 2 3 "Papers of James Franck Bright (Master 1881–1906)". University College, Oxford. Retrieved 4 April 2017.
  7. ↑ Mitchell, Leslie G. (October 1995). "The Shooting of the Master". University College Record. University College, Oxford. pp. 66–69.
  8. ↑ Hebron; Denlinger (2010). Shelley's Ghost. p. 15.
  9. ↑ Bright, J. Franck (1905). Joseph II. Archive.org. London: Macmillan & Co.

Sources

  • Hebron, Stephen; Denlinger, Elizabeth C. (2010). "Shelly and Oxford". Shelley's Ghost: Reshaping the image of a literary family. Bodleian Library, University of Oxford. ISBN 978 1 85124 339 6.
  • Wikisource "Bright, James Franck". Encyclopædia Britannica (12th ed.). 1922.
  • Works by or about James Franck Bright in libraries (WorldCat catalog)
  • Works by James Franck Bright at LibriVox (public domain audiobooks)
  • Bright, James Franck (1832–1920) Master of University College, Oxford in the UK National Archives
  • James Franck Bright, Master 1881–1906 at University College, Oxford
  • Portrait of James Franck Bright at University College, Oxford
Academic offices
Preceded by
George Bradley		 Master of University College, Oxford
1881–1906		 Succeeded by
Reginald Walter Macan
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