Francis Randall Appleton (August 5, 1854 – January 2, 1929) was an American lawyer and prominent New York society man during the Gilded Age.
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Early life
Francis Randall Appleton was born on August 5, 1854, in Lenox, Massachusetts. He was the eldest son born to Daniel Fuller Appleton (1826–1904), and Julia Randall (1827–1886). His siblings included Randolph Morgan Appleton (1862–1940), and James Waldingfield Appleton (1867–1942). After his mother's death in 1886, his father married Susan Cowles, daughter of the Rev. John P. Cowles, in 1889.
His paternal grandfather was Brig. Gen. James Appleton (1785–1862), an abolitionist, early supporter of temperance, and politician from Maine. His maternal grandfather was Nicholas P. Randall.
He was educated at private schools and prepared for college at Phillips Academy in Andover, Massachusetts. He graduated from Harvard College in 1875, and Columbia Law School in 1877.
Career
In 1877, he was admitted to the bar in New York. Following his admission to the Bar, he practiced as a lawyer for several years in New York City. From 1884 until his retirement in 1910, he was a member of the firm of Robbins & Appleton, which was founded by his father and were the New York agents for the Waltham Watch Company.