FOX, WILLIAM JOHNSON, religious and political orator, born near Southwold, Suffolk; was trained for the Independent ministry, but seceded to the Unitarians, and subsequently established himself as a preacher of pronounced rationalism at Finsbury; as a supporter of the Anti-Corn-Law movement he won celebrity as an impassioned orator, and from 1847 to 1863 represented Oldham in Parliament; he was editor of the Monthly Repository, and a frequent contributor to the Westminster Review, and published various works on political and religious topics (1786-1864).
FOXE, JOHN, martyrologist, born at Boston, Lincolnshire; in 1545 he resigned his Fellowship in Magdalen College, Oxford, on account of his espousing the doctrines of the Reformation, and for some years after he acted as a private tutor in noble families; during Queen Mary’s reign he sought refuge on the Continent, where he formed acquaintance with Knox and other leading Reformers; he returned to England on the accession of Elizabeth, and was appointed a prebend in Salisbury cathedral, but his Nonconformist leanings precluded his further preferment; his most famous work is his “Book of Martyrs,” first published in Latin on the Continent, the noble English version appearing in 1563 (1516-1587).
FOYERS, FALL OF, a fine cascade, having a fall of 165 ft., on the lower portion of the Foyers, a river of Inverness-shire, which enters Loch Ness on the E. side, 10 in. NE. of Fort Augustus.
FRA DIAVOLO, chief of a band of Italian brigands, born in Calabria; leader in sundry Italian insurrections; was hanged at Naples for treachery, in spite of remonstrances from England; gave name to an opera by Auber, but only the name (1760-1806).
FRACAS`TORO, GIROLAMO, a learned physician and poet, born at Verona; became professor of Dialectic at Padua in his twentieth year; subsequently practised as a physician, but eventually gave himself up to literature (1483-1553).
FRAGONARD, JEAN HONORE, a French artist, born at Grasse; gained the “prix de Rome” in 1752, and afterwards studied in Rome; was a member of the French Academy, and during the Revolution became keeper of the Musee; many of his paintings are in the Louvre, and are characterised by their free and luscious colouring (1732-1806).
FRANC, a silver coin 835/1000 fine, the monetary unity of France since 1799, weighs 5 grammes and equals about 91/2 d. in English currency (L1 = 25.3 francs); has been adopted by Belgium and Switzerland, while under other names a similar coin is in use in Spain (peseta), Italy (lira), and Greece (drachma).