Educated at Pembroke College, Cambridge, he married the actress Frances Kemble, compiled a Shakespeare concordance, and opened a school for girls. He was the father of Horace Twiss.

REFERENCES TO WORKS BY Francis Twiss:

A Complete Verbal Index to the Plays of Shakespeare: adapted to all the Editions, comprehending every Substantive, Adjective, Verb, Particle, and Adverb, used by Shakespeare, with a distinct Reference to every Individual Passage in which each Word occurs.