F. J. Rowe

Frederick James Rowe (c.1844 - 5 January 1909) was a Professor of English Literature and sometime Principal at the Presidency College in Calcutta, India.^[1] He has edited and written introductions for numerous collections of the works of Alfred Lord Tennyson. He has also collaborated with William Trego Webb to produce a number of English grammar books for Indian students.

Before moving to Presidency College, Rowe was a teacher of English at La Martiniere College in Calcutta. He taught at the school between 1868 and 1870 during which time he penned the school song Vive La Martiniere. The song is now an inseparable part of all school ceremonies,^[2] and is sung not just at the Calcutta College but at the other La Martiniere Schools in Lyon, France, and in Lucknow, India, all of which were founded by an endowment from the French adventurer Major General Claude Martin.

Rowe died on 5 January 1909. There is a bronze tablet in his memory in the Memorial Corner inside the Visitors' Lounge at the Calcutta school.^[3]

Selected works

• Examples and Exercises in translation. Bengali-English. Calcutta: Hindu Machine Press, 1902, 339pp.

Co-authored with William Trego Webb:

• Hints on the study of English. Calcutta: Thacker, Spink and Company, c.1885.
• An Elementary English Grammar. Calcutta: S. K. Lahiri, 1901, 219pp.
• A Guide to the Study of English.

See also

• Vive La Martiniere, the La Martiniere school song
• La Martiniere Calcutta
• La Martiniere Lyon
• La Martiniere Lucknow

References

1. ^ The Annual Register. Edited by H V Hodson. Longmans, 1965, p.111.
2. ^ Chandan Mitra. Constant Glory: La Martiniere Saga, 1836-1986. Calcutta: Oxford University Press, 1987.
3. ^ School history on the La Martiniere Boys' School Calcutta website