Frank Linsly James
Frank Linsly James (21 April 1851 – 21 April 1890) was an English explorer. He was born in Liverpool to American parents, Daniel James and Sophia Hall Hitchcock James. He grew up in Liverpool, living at Oakwood House in 1861 and later at Beaconsfield House in 1871. By 1890 his home was 14 Great Stanhope Street, Middlesex.
James explored Sudan, Somalia, India, and Mexico. He often sailed his private yacht, the Lancashire Witch, usually with his brothers John Arthur James and Willie (William Dodge) James. After Frank’s death, Willie used the yacht for a while. The Lancashire Witch later became HMS Waterwitch, a Royal Navy survey ship, in 1894.
He wrote two books: Wild Tribes of the Sudan (1883) and The Unknown Horn of Africa (1888).
James was killed in Gabon, West Africa, by a wounded elephant. He was buried at Kensal Green Cemetery, exhumed in 1917, and reburied in the family plot at West Dean, West Sussex.
His writings show his sense of humor. In The Unknown Horn of Africa, he recalls asking British Agent Langton Prendergast Walsh for advice on camels and handlers, which Walsh later discussed in his own books, sometimes criticizing how the expedition was organized.
He is commemorated by the three-streaked tchagra bird, Tchagra jamesi, and by Frank James Hospital in East Cowes, Isle of Wight.
This page was last edited on 2 February 2026, at 06:20 (CET).