Francis Negus (1670 – 9 September 1732)[1] of Dallinghoo, Suffolk, was an English Army officer, courtier, and Whig politician who sat in the House of Commons from 1717 to 1732.
He renewed his commission in 1702 and served in the French wars under John Churchill, 1st Duke of Marlborough, attaining the rank of lieutenant-colonel in the 25th Regiment of Foot in 1703.
[2] In 1719 he was one of the original backers of the Royal Academy of Music, establishing a London opera company which commissioned numerous works from Handel and others.
[2] He was appointed avener and clerk marshal to George II on 20 June 1727, and master of his majesty's buckhounds on 19 July in the same year.
Attention was diverted from the point at issue to a discussion of the merits of wine and water, which ended in the compound being nicknamed "negus.