Page:The Biographical Dictionary of America, vol. 04.djvu/53

 FALCONER

FALKNER

instruction from liis mother. Before reaching his majority he had served as organist in various churches in Philadelphia. In 1S.59 he went abroad and studied piano, singing and composi- tion at the Conservatoire Imperiale, Paris, and in Italy and Germany. He was U.S. consul at Zurich, 1861. In 186G King Karl of Wurtemburg conferred upon him foi; his musical compositions the"" great gold medal for art and science. " In the same year he returned to the United States. He was organist of the Church of the Epiphany, AVashington, D.C., and remained in that city as organist at various churches and as teacher and musical director, 1866-80; had charge of the music of St. John's EpiscoiMl church, Elizabeth, N.J., 1880-83, and was in New York city as or- ganist and director at the Church cf the Ascen- sion, 1883-91, and at the Church of St. Ignatius, 1891-98. He was for a time identified with oper- atic direction, producing with his own local company in AVashington, D.C., " Faust " and "II Tro vatore. ' ' He was also identified with the first production in America of Sullivan's first operas " Pinafore '" and " The Sorcerer,"' in connection with Manager John T. Ford. He afterward suc- ceeded the English composer, Alfred Collier, in the direction of the Com lej'- Barton opera com- pany. He was elected a member of the Manu- script society and of its board of directors; was one of the founders of the American guild of or- ganists, and a member of its council. In 1898-99 he was assistant supervisor of music in the public schools of New York city. Besides many songs and sacred compositions, he published Valerie, a four-act romantic opera produced in Washington in 1878; Li'onello, a five-act grand opera; a mass in E flat, and an oratorio.

FALCONER, John Mackie, artist, was born in Edinburgh. Scotland, May 22, 1820; son of Hugli M. and Catherine (Stewart) Falconer. He attended the Royal higli school and removed to New York city in 1836. There in 1842 he entered the National academy of design as a pupil, and outside studied wood engraving, etching and modelling. He afterward studied at the Graham art school and at the Brooklyn art association and later at the Louvre in Paris. He was elected a member of the New York sketch union in 1847; of the Society of painters in water-colors in 18.50; an honorary member of the National ac«idemy of design in 18.56; of the Artists' fund society in 1861, and of the New York etching club in 1879, and of the Society of painter etchers, London, in 1888, now the Royal society of painter etchers, of which he was made a fellow. He was active in organizing the American water-color society in 1805 of which he became a member. His works include oil paintings, water-colors, painting in enamel and etchings. He was long a student of

art materials and processes, gave careful atten- tion to the conservation and restoration of paint- ings and was entrusted with many valuable works in collections owned in the large cities of the United States. Among his more important works are; Iloboken Meadows (18.52) ; Shakespeare's Blrthpiacc ; Bird Traj)- ping ; Tlte Oldest House in St. Louis, Mo. ; Al- brecht DUrer's Souse, Nitrnherg ; ]Vhere Jef- ferson ^yrote the Decla- ration of Independence ; William Penn's House, Philadelphia; Tliomas Cole's First Studio at Catskill, N. Y. ; Wash- ington's Headquar- ters, Newbury, JV. Y. ; Spring, Autumn and October Snow, Mont-

mrt'hplace "^of jllm f^ /^.i^^^-^-^'^^^ Howard Payne; The Andre House; The Beverly Itobinson House, from which Benedict Arnold Es- caped; and a series of views of Historic Houses in enamel, oil, plaques, etc. He is the author of Sketch of the History of Water- Color Painting (1853); and Cutaloyne Bnisonne of the First Chron- ological Exhibition of American Art (1872) held in the United States, in Brooklyn, N.Y., of which he was the jirojector, and also of the First exhi- bition of engravings in the United States, held at Brooklyn under the auspices of the U.S. Sani- tary Fair, 1864. He made the death mask of Thomas Cole, N.A., in February, 1848, from which H. K. Brown, N.A., made the marble bust placed in the Sletropolitan museum of arts, New York city.

FALKNER, Roland Post, statistician, was born in Bridgeport, Conn., A])ril 14, 1866; son of the Rev. Dr. John Blake and Helen Moore (But- ler) Falkner. He was graduated from the Uni- versity of Pennsylvania, Ph.B., in 1885, and then studied at the universities of Berlin, Leipzig and Halle, receiving from the last the degree of Ph.D. in 1888. He was instructor in accounting and statistics at the University of Pennsjlvania, 1888-91, and in the latter year became associate professor of statistics. In the same year he was appointed statistician to a sub-committee of the United States senate committee on finance to in- vestigate the effect of the McKinley tariff on wages and the cost of living, and analyzed the material contained in the Aldrich Peports on Pi-ires and Wages (7 vols., "Washington, 1892 and 1893). In 1892 he accompanied the American delegation to the International monetary conference in Brussels as secretary of the delegation and was