Francis A. (Francis Arnold) Collins

Francis A. Collins was an American writer born in 1873 and died in 1957. Surviving reference pages identify him as Francis Arnold Collins, and they show a body of work focused on explaining science and technology in an accessible way for general readers.

His books include The Boys' Book of Model Aeroplanes (1910), The Wireless Man (1912), The Camera Man (1916), The Air Man (1917), and Sentinels Along Our Coast (1922). Even from those titles, you can see his recurring interests: flight, wireless communication, practical skills, and the fast-changing machinery of modern life.

Collins also published shorter pieces in magazines including St. Nicholas. What makes his work appealing now is the mix of instruction and excitement: he wrote at a moment when airplanes, radio, and modern cameras still felt new, and he had a knack for sharing that sense of discovery with curious readers.