[Fahrenheit, Gabriel Daniel], a celebrated physicist, born at Danzig; spent much of his life in England, but finally settled in Holland; devoted himself to physical research; is famed for his improvement of the thermometer by substituting quicksilver for spirits of wine and inventing a new scale, the freezing-point being 32° above zero and the boiling 212° (1686-1736).
[Faineant, Le Noir], Richard Coeur-de-Lion in "Ivanhoe."
[Faineants] (i. e. the Do-nothings), the name given to the kings of France of the Merovingian line from 670 to 752, from Thierry III. to Childéric III., who were subject to their ministers, the mayors of the palace, who discharged all their functions.
[Fair City], Perth, from the beauty of its surroundings.
[Fair Maid of Kent], the Countess of Salisbury, eventually wife of the Black Prince, so called from her beauty.
[Fair Maid of Norway], daughter of Eric II. of Norway, and granddaughter of Alexander III. of Scotland; died on her way from Norway to succeed her grandfather on the throne of Scotland, an event which gave rise to the famous struggle for the crown by rival competitors.
[Fair Maid of Perth], a beauty of the name of Kate Glover, the heroine of Scott's novel of the name.
[Fair Rosamond], the mistress of Henry II.; kept in a secret bower at Woodstock, in the heart of a labyrinth which only he could thread.
[Fairbairn, Andrew M.], able and thoughtful theologian, born in Edinburgh where he also graduated (1839); received the charge of the Evangelical Church at Bathgate, and subsequently studied in Berlin. In 1878 became Principal of the Airedale Congregational College at Bradford; was Muir Lecturer on Comparative Religions in Edinburgh University in 1881-83, and five years later was elected Principal of Mansfield College at Oxford; author of "The Place of Christ in Modern Theology," and several other scholarly works; b. 1838.
[Fairbairn, Sir William], an eminent engineer, born at Kelso; served an apprenticeship in N. Shields, and in 1817 started business in Manchester, where he came to the front as a builder of iron ships; improved upon Robert Stephenson's idea of a tubular bridge, and built upwards of 1000 of these; introduced iron shafts into cotton mills, and was employed by Government to test the suitability of iron for purposes of defence; created a baronet in 1869 (1789-1874).