John Francis Campbell (Scottish Gaelic: Iain Frangan Caimbeul; Islay, 29 December 1821 – Cannes, 17 February 1885), also known as Young John of Islay (Scottish Gaelic: Iain Òg Ìle) was a Scottish author and scholar who specialised in Celtic studies, considered an authority on the subject. Early life John Francis Campbell was born on Islay on 29 December 1821 to Lady Eleanor Charteris (1796–1832), eldest daughter of Francis Wemyss Charteris Douglas, and Walter Frederick Campbell of Islay (1798–1855), MP for Argyll. Campbell was a descendant (great-great-great-grandson) of Daniel Campbell of Shawfield who had bought Islay from the Campells of Cawdor, for £12,000 in 1726. Campbell was his father's heir, but creditors forced the island of Islay into administration, and the family left in 1847. After his father's death he was known as Campbell of Islay, even though the island had by then been sold. Education and early career Campbell was educated at Eton and the University of Edinburgh. He was called to the bar at the Inner Temple 1851, and appointed private secretary to the Lord Privy Seal in 1853. He was assistant secretary to the General Board of Health in 1854, he became secretary to the Trinity House Royal Commission of Lighthouses in London 1859. In 1861 he was Groom of the Privy Chamber. Celtic studies Campbell was known as an authority on Celtic folklore and of the Gaelic peoples. His most well-known published work is the bilingual Popular Tales of the West Highlands (4 vols., 1860–62) He dedicated Popular Tales of the West Highlands to the son of my Chief, the Marquess of Lorne. In 1872 he self-published Leabhar na Feinne, a collection of heroic ballads culled from manuscripts held by libraries, but to his chagrin this endeavor failed to meet with success. He travelled extensively throughout the Scottish Highlands and Islands with his scribes, scrupulously recording West Highland tales, Fenian ballads, songs, charms and anecdotes. He was proficient in Gaelic, Danish, Norwegian, Swedish, Lapp, Italian, Spanish and German. He travelled extensively, especially in Europe and Scandinavia. In 1874 he embarked on a year-long world tour that took him to America, Japan, China, Java, Ceylon and India. The Celtic Dragon Myth was published posthumously in 1911. Campbell had started preliminary work on The Celtic Dragon Myth in 1862, and work intensified on it from 1870 until 1884. After Campbell's death in 1885 the noted Gaelic scholar George Henderson