The New International Encyclopædia/Falconer, William

​FALCONER, William (1732-69). An English poet, son of a poor barber. He was born in Edinburgh. He went early to sea, and before he was eighteen years of age he was second mate in a vessel in the Levant trade, which was shipwrecked off Cape Colonna in Greece. Of the crew only he and two others were saved. The story of this voyage he related in a poem called "The Shipwreck" (1762). Entering the Royal Navy, he was appointed purser on the frigate Aurora, which was about to sail for India. The Aurora, after touching at the Cape of Good Hope, December, 1769. was lost. All the crew perished. "The Shipwreck" passed through three editions before this tragic event, and is still an interesting poem. Ealconer wrote a political satire entitled The Demagogue (1784), and compiled a nautical dictionary (1769). His Poetical Works were edited, with a Life, by Gilfillan (London, 1854).

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