See Hegler, in Hauck's _Realencyklopaedie_ (1899); C. A. Hase, _Sebastian Franck von Woerd_ (1869); J. F. Smith, in _Theological Review_ (April 1874); E. Tausch, _Sebastian Franck von Donauwoerth und seine Lehrer_ (1893). (A. Go.*) FRANCKE, AUGUST HERMANN (1663-1727), German Protestant divine, was born on the 22nd of March 1663 at Luebeck. He was educated at the gymnasium in Gotha, and afterwards at the universities of Erfurt, Kiel, where he came under the influence of the pietist Christian Kortholt (1633-1694), and Leipzig. During his student career he made a special study of Hebrew and Greek; and in order to learn Hebrew more thoroughly, he for some time put himself under the instructions of Rabbi Ezra Edzardi at Hamburg. He graduated at Leipzig, where in 1685 he became a _Privatdozent_. A year later, by the help of his friend P. Anton, and with the approval and encouragement of P. J. Spener, he founded the Collegium Philobiblicum, at which a number of graduates were accustomed to meet for the systematic study of the Bible, philologically and practically. He next passed some months at Lueneburg as assistant or curate to the learned superintendent, C. H. Sandhagen (1639-1697), and there his religious life was remarkably quickened and deepened. On leaving Lueneburg he spent some time in Hamburg, where he became a teacher in a private school, and made the acquaintance of Nikolaus Lange (1659-1720). After a long visit to Spener, who was at that time a court preacher in Dresden, he returned to Leipzig in the spring of 1689, and began to give Bible lectures of an exegetical and practical kind, at the same time resuming the Collegium Philobiblicum of earlier days. He soon became popular as a lecturer; but the peculiarities of his teaching almost immediately aroused a violent opposition on the part of the university authorities; and before the end of the year he was interdicted from lecturing on the ground of his alleged pietism. Thus it was that Francke's name first came to be publicly associated with that of Spener, and with pietism. Prohibited from lecturing in Leipzig, Francke in 1690 found work at Erfurt as "deacon" of one of the city churches. Here his evangelistic fervour attracted multitudes to his preaching, including Roman Catholics, but at the same time excited the anger of his opponents; and the result of their opposition was that after a ministry of fifteen months he was commanded by the civil authorities (27th of September 1691) to leave Erfurt within forty-eight hours. The same year witnessed the expulsion of Spener from Dresden.