Julian Sturgis

Who was Julian Sturgis?

Julian Russell Sturgis was a novelist, poet, librettist and lyricist. Born in the US, he lived and worked in Britain nearly all his life and took British citizenship.

Educated at Eton and Balliol College, Oxford, Sturgis was a notable athlete. He distinguished himself in Eton's sporting activities and rowed for Balliol for three years. He then played association football as an amateur, from 1872 to 1876, and was the first foreigner to play in an FA Cup Final.

Sturgis qualified as a barrister, but he embarked on a writing career in 1874, producing novels, poetry, plays and libretti. He wrote the words for four operas, with music by Arthur Goring Thomas, Arthur Sullivan, Alexander Mackenzie and Charles Villiers Stanford, respectively. He is, perhaps, best remembered as the librettist for Sullivan's 1891 opera Ivanhoe.