English; _b_. 1842.

FLAMSTEED, JOHN, the first astronomer-royal of England, born near
Derby; his devotion to astronomy gained him the favour of Sir Jonas
Moore, who was the means of getting him the appointment of
astronomer-royal in 1675; from the Observatory of Greenwich, specially
built for his use, he catalogued the fixed stars and supplied Newton with
useful information bearing on his lunar theory; in 1675 he took holy
orders, and was presented to the living of Burstow in Surrey, which he
held till his death (1646-1719).

FLANDERS, the land of the Flemings, borders upon the North Sea,
formerly extended from the Scheldt to the Somme, and included, besides
the present Belgian provinces of East and West Flanders, part of Zealand,
and also of Artois, in France; the ancient county dates from 862, in
which year Charles the Bold of France, as suzerain, raised it to the
status of a sovereign county, and bestowed it upon his son Baldwin I.; it
has successively belonged to Spain and Austria, and in Louis XIV.'s reign
a portion of it was ceded to France, now known as French Flanders, while
Zealand passed into the hands of the Dutch; the remainder was in 1714
made the Austrian Netherlands, and in 1831 was incorporated with the new
kingdom of BELGIUM (q. v.).

FLANDRIN, a French painter, born at Lyons; was a pupil of Ingres;
represented the religious movement in art in the 19th century
(1809-1864).

FLAUBERT, GUSTAVE, a realistic romancer, born at Rouen; author of
"Madame Bovary," a study of provincial life, which became the subject of
a prosecution, and "Salammbo," wonderful for its vigour and skill in
description; he indulged in repulsive subjects (1821-1880).

FLAVEL, JOHN, an English Nonconformist divine of spiritualising
tendencies, much read by pious people of his class; _d_. 1691.

FLAXMAN, JOHN, an eminent sculptor, born at York; was brought up in
London, where his father carried on business as a moulder of plaster
figures; his love of drawing and modelling soon marked him out as an
artist, and helped by friends he devoted himself to art; exhibited at the
age of 12, and won the silver medal of the Royal Academy at 14; for some
years he supplied the Wedgwoods with designs for their famous pottery,
and in 1787 he went to Rome, which for seven years became his home; in
1810 became professor of Sculpture to the Royal Academy; besides many
fine statues of eminent men and much exquisite work in bas-reliefs,