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Francis Andersen

Australian linguist (1925-2020)

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Record originEnglish Wikipedia
Text licenseCC BY-SA 4.0
Source revisionJul 15, 2026
Entity authorityQ5479991 ↗
Source-derived summary

Francis Ian Andersen (28 July 1925 – 13 May 2020) was an Australian scholar in the fields of biblical studies and Hebrew. Together with A. Dean Forbes (full name Alfred Dean Forbes, born 1941), he pioneered the use of computers for the analysis of biblical Hebrew syntax. He taught Old Testament, History, and Religious Studies at various institutions in Australia and the United States, including Macquarie University, the University of Queensland, and Fuller Theological Seminary. His published works include the Tyndale commentary on Job, and Anchor Bible commentaries on Hosea, Amos, Habakkuk and Micah, and over 90 papers (some as co-author).

Biography

Francis Ian Andersen was born in Warwick, Queensland, Australia. In his final high school examinations in 1942, he topped the state of Queensland, winning an Open Scholarship to the University of Queensland. He received a Bachelor of Science from the University of Queensland in Chemistry in 1947. He accepted a position as Demonstrator in Chemistry at the University of Melbourne, where he taught until 1953. He received a Master of Science in Physical Chemistry in 1951, and a Bachelor of Arts in Russian in 1955, both from the University of Melbourne.

In 1952 he married Lois Garrett, a medical doctor.

Editorial summary

The public source identifies “Francis Andersen” as australian linguist (1925-2020). This brief keeps that definition visible, then builds a research path around Francis, Andersen and Australian.

Editorial reviewA concise reference frame for defining the subject, testing terminology and identifying the institution closest to the evidence. The current lead gives the account dated anchors—1925, 2020, 1941, 1942—that can be checked directly. The linked authority record independently contributes the date 1925-07-28. Its value is orientation rather than verdict, with Francis, Andersen and Australian providing the first useful test.
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A short description can identify a subject without explaining its stakes. For “Francis Andersen”, the useful work is to connect “australian linguist (1925-2020)” to the records capable of establishing context and consequence.

Evidence profile

Named sources, stable identifiers and responsible institutions provide the strongest route from overview to verifiable evidence. The source revision retrieved here is dated Jul 15, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q5479991. VIAF identifies the subject as 45226365. The Library of Congress control number is n79118915. 2 of 3 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1925, 2020, 1941 and 1942.

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This entry incorporates text from “Francis Andersen” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.