Page:Dictionary of National Biography volume 18.djvu/250

 Faulkner of literary composition; the sixth edition appeared in 1772; it passed through nine editions in all; was included in the fourth volume of Dilly's 'Repository,' and was followed by an epistle from Howard. Faulkner, who towards the close of his life became conspicuous as an Irish patriot, was fined in 1768 for not serving the office of sheriff, and in 1770 was sworn as an alderman of Dublin. His tastes were for good company, and, though the wits who met at his table sometimes used him as an object for ridicule, he could hit with vigour in retaliation. He told good stories about Swift, and provided his guests with abundant claret, of which he could drink deep without getting drunk. Richard Cumberland, indeed, asserts that when Faulkner became an alderman he grew grave and sentimental, so that he lost his engaging qualities; but in his letter, written shortly before his death, to Bowyer he boasts that though infirm he could still enjoy a good dinner from his love of good claret, which was 'lighter, cooler, and easier of digestion.' He died at Dublin on 30 Aug. 1775, and according to Gilbert his death was 'caused by a distemper contracted while dining with some friends at a tavern in the suburbs of the city.' He left no children, and his property passed to his nephew, Thomas Todd, who assumed the surname of Faulkner. Mary Anne Faulkner, the mistress of Lord Halifax [q. v.], is said to have been the printer's niece and adopted daughter.

Faulkner was called by Swift 'the prince of Dublin printers,' and there are numerous letters and references to him in the dean's works. He was the first to give 'a collected and uniform edition of Swift's writings,' and the edition which he issued in 1735 embodied the greatest number of the author's emendations in his large-paper copy of the first impression of 'Gulliver's Travels.' Though Swift affected to regret the appearance of this edition, he interposed on Faulkner's behalf when Benjamin Motte, a bookseller in London, endeavoured, by filing a bill in chancery in 1736, to prevent its sale in England. Swift's 'Directions to Servants' was printed after his death by Faulkner (1745), and in 1772 he published the dean's works in twenty octavo volumes, the notes in which were chiefly written by Faulkner, and have furnished the principal matter of all succeeding commentators. The letters from Lord Chesterfield to Alderman George Faulkner, Dr. Madden, &c, were printed in 1777 as 'a supplement to his lordship's letters,' and are included in vols. iii. and iv. of Lord Stanhope's edition. His paper was originally issued twice a week, but in 1768 it was brought out three times a week, and it was said to have circulated among the leisured and cultured classes, while the other journals were mostly used 'by traders and men of business.' About 1790 it became a violent government organ. His portrait is engraved in the 'Miscellaneous Works of Lord Chesterfield' (Dublin, 1777). He was of very low stature and with a very large head. His shop was at the corner of Parliament and Essex Streets, Dublin.

[Gilbert's History of the City of Dublin, ii. 30-53; Swift's Works,ed. 1883, passim; Chesterfield's Letters, ed. Mahon, iii. 292-3, iv. passim; Hill's Boswell, ii. 154-5, v. 44, 130; Napier's Boswell. ii. 567; Craik's Swift, pp. 437, 536; satirical prints at the British Museum, iv. 520, 586-7; Timperley's Dict, of Printers and Printing, pp. 640, 659, 686, 735; Cumberland's Memoirs, i. 231-4; Nichols's Literary Anecdotes, ii. 177, iii. 208-9; Nichols's Illustrations of Literature, viii. 40; Gent. Mag. 1770, p. 455; Notes and Queries, 2nd ser. vols. ii. v.]  FAULKNER, GEORGE (1790?–1862), the supposed originator of the foundation of Owens College, Manchester, was born about 1790 in Oldham Street, Manchester, in which town his life was spent. In 1812 he entered into partnership in a well-established firm of silk, cotton, and linen manufacturers, which still, though no longer under his name, continues to prosper. For a time its business included a fine-spinning mill, in which Faulkner's intimate friend, John Owens [q. v.], was one of his partners. At some date before Owens's death, which happened in 1846 he is said to have informed Faulkner that he had made his will, in which he had left all his property to his friend. Faulkner, the story continues, refused point-blank to accept another fortune in addition to his own. Owens's irritation at this singular conduct, however, ceased after a few days, when Faulkner suggested to him the plan of leaving the bulk of his wealth for the foundation of a college which should supply a university education unconditioned by religious tests. According to a paper ascribed to the late Professor Henry Rogers (Good Words, 1864, p. 573) Faulkner was himself indebted for the original suggestion of his generous conception to Samuel Fletcher, a public-spirited and philanthropic Manchester merchant, who, unlike Faulkner, was a nonconformist. In any case the advice was taken, and when in 1851 Owens College was actually called into life at Manchester, Faulkner was elected the first chairman of its trustees. He filled this post efficiently till August 1858, taking repeated opportunities of supplementing his friend's