This article is about the 17th century British Jesuit. For the contemporary Australian politician, see Frank Hawkins (Australian politician).

Francis Hawkins (1628–1681) was an English

English people

The English are a nation and ethnic group native to England, who speak English. The English identity is of early mediaeval origin, when they were known in Old English as the Anglecynn. England is now a country of the United Kingdom, and the majority of English people in England are British Citizens...

 Jesuit

Society of Jesus

The Society of Jesus is a Catholic male religious order that follows the teachings of the Catholic Church. The members are called Jesuits, and are also known colloquially as "God's Army" and as "The Company," these being references to founder Ignatius of Loyola's military background and a...

 and child prodigy

Child prodigy

A child prodigy is someone who, at an early age, masters one or more skills far beyond his or her level of maturity. One criterion for classifying prodigies is: a prodigy is a child, typically younger than 18 years old, who is performing at the level of a highly trained adult in a very demanding...

 and translator. His primary fame derives from two translations he did while quite young, although he had a long career among the English speaking Jesuits in exile. His father was the noted grammarian and physician John Hawkins

John Hawkins

Admiral Sir John Hawkins was an English shipbuilder, naval administrator and commander, merchant, navigator, and slave trader. As treasurer and controller of the Royal Navy, he rebuilt older ships and helped design the faster ships that withstood the Spanish Armada in 1588...

, and his uncles were Sir Thomas Hawkins

Thomas Hawkins

Thomas or Tom Hawkins may refer to:* Sir Thomas Hawkins, 17th-century English poet and translator* Thomas R. Hawkins, American soldier*Thomas Hawkins , English fossil collector*Thomas W...

 and the Jesuit leader Henry Hawkins.

At the age of ten, he published An Alarum for Ladyes, translated from de La Serre. At thirteen, he published Youths Behaviour, or, Decency in Conversation amongst Men (1641). It is possible that the latter work was translated earlier and only published in 1641, as there are references in the work as its being the first he performed. Youths Behaviour was quite popular and ran to ten editions by 1672, and its fame was such that the Puritan

Puritan

The Puritans were a significant grouping of English Protestants in the 16th and 17th centuries. Puritanism in this sense was founded by some Marian exiles from the clergy shortly after the accession of Elizabeth I of England in 1558, as an activist movement within the Church of England...

 Robert Codrington wrote Youths Behaviour, or, Decency in Conversation amongst Women in 1664.

As a young man and adult, he moved between the various Anglophone centers of Jesuit learning and service in Europe. He went between the Jesuit College at Watten, the English college at Liège

Liège

Liège is a major city and municipality of Belgium located in the province of Liège, of which it is the economic capital, in Wallonia, the French-speaking region of Belgium....

, and the college of Saint Omer

Saint Omer

The name Saint Omer may refer to:* Saint Audomare, the seventh century saint whose name is often shortened as "St. Omer"* Saint-Omer, Pas-de-Calais, a French town* Saint-Omer, Calvados, a French commune...

. He took his vows in 1662, and he served in multiple positions at the various colleges afterward. Hawkins's exceptional intelligence made him a natural fit for administrative duties, and he was sent from place to place to provide services. He finally settled in Liège from 1675 until his death of unknown causes in 1681.