Campbell John Francis

Campbell, John Francis, writer on Highland folk-lore and scientist, was born in 1822, eldest son of Walter Frederick Campbell, of Islay, and Lady Eleanor Charteris. Educated at Eton and the University of Edinburgh, he occupied various posts under the Government, among them secretary to the lighthouse and coal commissions. He was an extensive traveller, and died in 1885 at Cannes. It is by the work of his leisure that he is known, and which he published in Popular Tales of the West. Highlands, orally collected (1860-62), Frost and Fire, Natural Engines, Toolmarks, and Chips, or Sketches taken at Home and Abrod by a Traveller (1865), Thermography (1883), etc. He also invented the sunshine recorder, whereby the varying intensity of the sun's rays is indicated.