Frederic Ranken

Frederic G. Ranken (c. 1869 – October 19, 1905) was an American librettist, lyricist, and playwright who worked in Broadway's light opera and musical theater world from 1899 through 1907. Born in Troy, New York, he was the son of the owner of an electrical works in that city. Ranken received his education in Troy and began his professional life working for his father before turning to the theater.

His Broadway career as a librettist brought him into collaboration with several prominent composers of the era. His first major credit in this capacity was the libretto for Victor Herbert's 1899 operetta The Ameer, staged at Wallack's Theatre. He subsequently wrote the book for Ludwig Engländer's opera The Jewel of Asia, which opened at the Criterion Theatre in 1903. The peak of Ranken's career came with his libretto for Reginald De Koven's comic opera Happyland, which played the Lyric Theatre in 1905. A final collaboration with De Koven, the operetta The Student King, premiered posthumously at the Garden Theatre on Christmas Day 1906 and continued its run there into 1907.

Alongside his work as a librettist, Ranken wrote both book and lyrics for a number of Broadway musicals. These included The Chaperons in 1902, with music by Isidore Witmark; Nancy Brown in 1903, composed by Henry K. Hadley; and The Gingerbread Man in 1905, with music by Alfred Baldwin Sloane. He also contributed lyrics to songs by Gustave Kerker for the 1903 musical Winsome Winnie, produced at the Casino Theatre.

Ranken died of yellow fever in Manhattan on October 19, 1905, at the age of 36, leaving The Student King to reach the stage without him.