Frank Malcolm Robinson was an American science fiction and techno-thriller writer. He was a speechwriter for gay politician Harvey Milk and Milk's designated successor in the event of his death but declined to be appointed to or run for office.
Benjamin Franklin Norris Jr. was an American journalist and novelist during the Progressive Era, whose fiction was predominantly in the naturalist genre. His notable works include McTeague: A Story of San Francisco (1899), The Octopus: A Story of California (1901) and The Pit (1903).
Frank Pierrepont Graves was Commissioner of the New York State Education Department from 1921 to 1940. Prior to assuming the commissionership, Graves was a noted historian of education, college administrator, and author.
Frank Podmore was an English author, and founding member of the Fabian Society. He is best known as an influential member of the Society for Psychical Research and for his sceptical writings on spiritualism.
Frank Preston Stearns (1846–1917), the son of abolitionist George Luther Stearns, was a writer and abolitionist from Massachusetts during the 19th century. In addition to collaborating with Elizur Wright in ambitious abolitionist projects, such as the American Anti-Slavery Society, he is credited with several seminal works exploring the lives and careers of important American public figures and authors of note, including The Life and Genius of Nathaniel Hawthorne, The Life of Prince Otto von Bismarck, and The Life and Public Services of George Luther Stearns.
Frank Richard Stockton was an American writer and humorist, best known today for a series of innovative children's fairy tales that were widely popular during the last decades of the 19th century.
Frank Riley (1915–1996) was the pseudonym of Frank Ryhlick, an American science fiction author best known for co-writing the novel They'd Rather Be Right, which won a Hugo Award for Best Novel during 1955. He was a syndicated travel columnist and editor for the Los Angeles Times, and editor of the Los Angeles Magazine. He also wrote advertisements for See's Candies, screenplays, short fiction such as the "Father Anton Dymek" mysteries and was a host of a radio program in the Los Angeles area.
Frank Thomas Bullen, British novelist, was born of poor parents in Paddington, London, on 5 April 1857, and was educated for a few years at a dame school and Westbourne school, Paddington. At the age of 9, his aunt, who was his guardian, died. He then left school and took up work as an errand boy. In 1869 he went to sea and travelled to all parts of the world in various capacities including that of second mate of the Harbinger and chief mate of the Day Dawn, under Capt. John R. H. Ward jun in 1879 when she was dismasted and disabled.
Having spent 15 years of his life at sea, since the tender age of 12, he would later describe the hardships of his early life thus:
I have been beaten by a negro lad as big again as myself, and only a Frenchman interfered on my behalf. Those were the days when boys in Geordie colliers or East Coast fishing smacks were often beaten to insanity and jumped overboard, or were done to death in truly savage fashion, and all that was necessary to account for their non returning was a line in the log to the effect that they had been washed or had fallen overboard.
A parallel may be drawn with Joseph Conrad's career at sea aboard Torrens 1891–1893.
He was a clerk in the Meteorological Office from 1883 to 1889. His reputation was made over the publication of The Cruise of the "Cachalot" (1898); and he also wrote, amongst other books, Idylls of the Sea (1899); Sea Wrack (1903); The Call of the Deep (1907) and A Compleat Sea Cook (1912), besides many articles and essays. He lectured extensively and was highly critical of Australasia's lack of defences against what he saw as imminent naval threats from Germany and Japan. He died at Madeira on 1 March 1915.
