FRANKLAND, FREDERICK WILLIAM (1854-1916) was born at Manchester, the eldest son of Sir Edward Frankland, K.C.B., F.R.S. Educated at University College School (1866-69) and University College (1869-72), he was in his father's chemical research laboratories at the South Kensington Science Schools (1873-74). Owing to ill-health Frankland came to New Zealand (1875) and in the following year entered the civil service as a clerk in the Customs, transferring later in the year to the Insurance department. In 1884 he was appointed Registrar of Friendly Societies and actuary to the Government Life Insurance department. Two years later he was appointed Government Actuary and Statist; in 1888 he became actuary and principal officer of the Government Life Insurance department, and in 1889 Commissioner. In the following year he resigned that post and paid a visit to England, where he was appointed assistant-actuary to the Atlas Assurance Co. In 1891 he attended the International Congress of Hygiene and Demography. In 1893 he accepted the post of associate-actuary to the New York Life Insurance office, and he remained in the United States for nine years, visiting England each year. During this period he was engaged on the mortality statistics of under-average lives, to which he made valuable contributions.

Ill-health compelled him to resign this post in 1902, and he came back to New Zealand, travelling by way of the Far East. He then settled down in Foxton, where he became a member of the borough council (1905-08) and of the school committee and took an interest in other sides of life. He contested the Manawatu seat (1909). In 1911 he was appointed examiner in statistical method and other subjects to the Education department.

Frankland was a man of high literary and scientific attainments, a lifelong student of theology, sociology and metaphysics, and the author of numerous papers in the proceedings of the Actuarial Society of America, the American Academy of Political Science, the London Mathematical Society, the American Mathematical Society, the American Economic Society and the American Association for the Advancement of Science. He was a friend of Herbert Spencer and an advanced thinker himself. To his friendship with Sir Harry Atkinson can be traced a definite influence upon Atkinson's social policy. As early as 1885 he was a socialist.

Frankland married (1879) Miriam, daughter of C. H. Symons, Foxton. His death occurred on 23 Jul 1916.

Insurance Record, 4 Aug 1916; Successful Americans (1916); Cycl. N.Z., vi (p); James Collier (in The Press), 18 Nov 1909; Manawatu Evening Standard, 24 Aug 1916.

Reference: Volume 1, page 157

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