From 1871 Francis was educated at Winchester College, where a master inspired him with a love of Shakespeare. He went on to study at New College, Oxford University in 1878 - where he distinguished himself as an amateur actor and as an athlete, winning the Inter-university three mile race.
After working as an actor, Francis founded his own theatre company in 1883 and produced all but two of Shakespeare's plays. His thirty-year association with the Shakespeare Memorial Theatre and the annual Shakespeare Festival in Stratford-upon-Avon laid down foundations for the creation of the Royal Shakespeare Company after his death.
In 1886 Francis married a member of his company - Gertrude Constance Cockburn Samwell (26th February 1864 – 19th - January 1946) - a British actress whose stage name was Constance Featherstonhaugh. The couple had two children, Eric William (1887–1916, killed during the battle of the Somme), and Brynhild Lucy (1888–1974).
During the First World War Francis staged patriotic performances of Shakespeare’s play Henry V in the early years of the war, but longed to make a more tangible contribution to the war effort. He was rejected for active service because of his age. He temporarily abandoned the stage and drove an ambulance in France, receiving the Croix de Guerre on the battlefield for rescuing wounded men on the front line.
Francis was knighted in 1916 in Drury Lane Theatre. His wife, Constance, who became Lady Benson when her husband was knighted, ran a canteen for soldiers in France during the First World War.
After the war Francis made his last appearance at Stratford-upon-Avon in 1919, and toured South Africa in 1921–1922.
Sir Francis Benson died on 31st December 1939.
Source: Wikipedia
