Francis James Child

Francis James Child
Born	(1825-02-01)February 1, 1825 Boston, Massachusetts, U.S.
Died	July 11, 1896(1896-07-11) (aged 71) Boston, Massachusetts, U.S.
Burial place	"Sedgwick Pie", Stockbridge, Massachusetts
Alma mater	Harvard University
Occupation(s)	English professor, folklorist
Known for	Child Ballads
Spouse	Elizabeth Ellery Sedgwick

Francis James Child (February 1, 1825 – September 11, 1896) was an American scholar, educator, and folklorist, best known today for his collection of English and Scottish ballads now known as the Child Ballads. Child was Boylston professor of rhetoric and oratory at Harvard University, where he produced influential editions of English poetry. In 1876 he was named Harvard's first Professor of English, a position which allowed him to focus on academic research. It was during this time that he began work on the Child Ballads.

The Child Ballads were published in five volumes between 1882 and 1898. While Child was primarily a literary scholar with little interest in the music of the ballads, his work became a major contribution to the study of English-language folk music.^[1]