F. L. Woodward

F. L. Woodward
Frank Lee Woodward
Born	13 April 1871 Saham Toney, Norfolk, England
Died	27 May 1952 Beaconsfield Hospital, West Tamar, Tasmania
Nationality	English
Education	Christ's Hospital (the Bluecoat School), London Sidney Sussex College, Cambridge
Occupation	Educator, Writer
Parent(s)	William Woodward Elizabeth Mary Ann

Frank Lee Woodward (1871–1952) was an English educationist, Pali scholar, author and theosophist. Woodward studied and researched on Theravada Buddhism and wrote numerous work based on them. He is admired among the Pali scholars for compiling the vast concordance of Pali canon by translating eighteen of the forty-two volumes of the Pali texts into English. He also served as the principal of Buddhist school Mahinda College, Galle in Ceylon for 16 years from 1903 to 1919. Woodward lived his latter stage of life in Rowella, Tasmania, mainly spending his time on studies and translation work.

F. L. Woodward was born on 13 April 1871 at Saham Toney in Norfolk, England, as the third son of William Woodward, an Anglican vicar, and his wife Elizabeth Mary Ann. Woodward had an archetypal Victorian boyhood and began to study the languages Latin, Greek, French and German by the age of eight. He joined the traditional English public school Christ's Hospital (the Bluecoat School), London in 1879, where he later won the Latin and French prizes on three occasions. Woodward also did well in athletics at his school and won prizes for many athletic events. He did specially well in Putting the weight, where he held the records for several years. Woodward won a scholarship to Sidney Sussex College, Cambridge at the age of eighteen and won the distinction as a classical scholar, sportsman and organist there. He was also the captain of the Rugby football team, vice-captain of Boats and was a full-back of the Soccer team of Sydney Sussex College.

He received B.A. in 1893 and M.A. in 1902 and later turned to teaching and taught in several English public schools which secured him a deputy headmaster-ship. Woodward began his teaching career at Rugby Preparatory School, where he served for a short period as an assistant master. Later he taught for three years at the Royal Grammar School, Worcester until 1897 as classics master. Woodward then joined Stamford School, Lincolnshire, where he served for five years as the second master. During his five-year period at Stamford school he spend a great deal of his time for the study of both Western and Eastern philosophy, Pali and Sanskrit, English literature, and religion. Woodward joined the London Theosophical Society in 1902, and became a friend and follower of Col. Henry Steel Olcott, the co-founder and first President of the Theosophical Society. In 1903 Col.Olcott offered him the principal-ship of Mahinda College, Galle, Ceylon which was then administered by the Buddhist Theosophical Society of Galle, Ceylon. Woodward accepted the principalship of Mahinda College which he nursed for the next 16 years of his life.