Dr. Francis Andrew March (October 25, 1825 – September 9, 1911) was an American polymath, academic, philologist, and lexicographer. He is considered the principal founder of modern comparative linguistics in Old English. Also known as the "Grand Old Man of Lafayette", March was the first individual to hold the title "Professor of English Language and Literature" anywhere in the United States or Europe. March is predominantly recognized for performing his duties as "Professor of the English Language and Comparative Philology" at Lafayette College, where he taught for fifty-six years.