F. J. Rowe

Who was F. J. Rowe?

Frederick James Rowe was a Professor of English Literature and sometime Principal at the Presidency College in Calcutta, India. 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, 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.