Arthur Lehman Goodhart (1 March 1891 in

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– 10 November 1978 in

Oxford Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the Un ...

) was an American-born academic

jurist A jurist is a person with expert knowledge of law; someone who analyses and comments on law. This person is usually a specialist legal scholar, mostly (but not always) with a formal qualification in law and often a legal practitioner. In the Un ...

and lawyer; he was Professor of Jurisprudence at the

University of Oxford The University of Oxford is a collegiate research university in Oxford, England. There is evidence of teaching as early as 1096, making it the oldest university in the English-speaking world and the world's second-oldest university in contin ...

, 1931–51, when he was also a Fellow of University College, Oxford. He was the first American to be the Master of an Oxford college, and was a significant benefactor to the college.

Early life and education

Arthur Goodhart was born to a

Jewish Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...

family in New York City, the youngest of three children born to Harriet "Hattie" (née Lehman) and Philip Julius Goodhart. His siblings were Howard Lehman Goodhart and Helen Goodhart Altschul (married to Frank Altschul). His maternal grandfather was Mayer Lehman, one of three brothers who co-founded the investment banking firm

Lehman Brothers Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. ( ) was an American global financial services firm founded in 1847. Before filing for bankruptcy in 2008, Lehman was the fourth-largest investment bank in the United States (behind Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, a ...

. Goodhart was educated at the Hotchkiss School,

Yale University Yale University is a Private university, private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the List of Colonial Colleges, third-oldest institution of higher education in the United Sta ...

and

Trinity College, Cambridge Trinity College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Founded in 1546 by King Henry VIII, Trinity is one of the largest Cambridge colleges, with the largest financial endowment of any college at either Cambridge or Oxford. ...

. At Yale, he was an editor of campus humor magazine ''

The Yale Record ''The Yale Record'' is the campus humor magazine of Yale University. Founded in 1872, it became the oldest humor magazine in the world when ''Punch'' folded in 2002."History", The Yale Record, March 10, 2010. http://www.yalerecord.com/about/histo ...

''. After returning to the United States, he practised law until

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...

. Following the war, he started to pursue an academic career in law, initially at

Cambridge University , mottoeng = Literal: From here, light and sacred draughts. Non literal: From this place, we gain enlightenment and precious knowledge. , established = , other_name = The Chancellor, Masters and Schola ...

and later at

Oxford University Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...

where he became Professor of Jurisprudence and subsequently the Master of University College. He was editor of the '' Law Quarterly Review'' for fifty years.

Career

Rejected for service with British forces in

, in 1914, Goodhart became a member of the U.S. forces when the U.S. joined the war in 1917; he became counsel to the U.S. mission to

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, , is a country in Central Europe. Poland is divided into Voivodeships of Poland, sixteen voivodeships and is the fifth most populous member state of the European Union (EU), with over 38 mill ...

, in 1919. Goodhart was called to the bar by the

Inner Temple The Honourable Society of the Inner Temple, commonly known as the Inner Temple, is one of the four Inns of Court and is a professional associations for barristers and judges. To be called to the Bar and practise as a barrister in England and W ...

1919, and became a fellow of

Corpus Christi College, Cambridge Corpus Christi College (full name: "The College of Corpus Christi and the Blessed Virgin Mary", often shortened to "Corpus"), is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. From the late 14th century through to the early 19th centur ...

, and university lecturer in jurisprudence; he edited the '' Cambridge Law Journal'', 1921–5, and the '' Law Quarterly Review'', 1926. In 1931 he moved to Oxford to become professor of jurisprudence. He gave up that chair when he became Master of University College, Oxford, 1951–63. Subsequently, he was an Honorary Fellow of the college until his death in 1978. In 1952 he delivered the Hamlyn Lectures. As a member of the Law Revision Committee, Goodhart helped to promote improvements in various branches of the law.

Personal life

Arthur Goodhart was married to Cecily Goodhart (née Carter), a devout Anglican. They had three children: Sir Philip Goodhart; William Goodhart, Lord Goodhart of Youlbury; and Charles GoodhartThe Palgrave Dictionary of Anglo-Jewish History: "Arthur Lehman Goodhart" edited by William D. Rubinstein
p. 354 (after whom

Goodhart's law Goodhart's law is an adage often stated as, "When a measure becomes a target, it ceases to be a good measure". It is named after British economist Charles Goodhart, who is credited with expressing the core idea of the adage in a 1975 article on mon ...

is named).

Legacy

Students during Goodhart's Mastership of University College included Bob Hawke,

matriculate Matriculation is the formal process of entering a university, or of becoming eligible to enter by fulfilling certain academic requirements such as a matriculation examination. Australia In Australia, the term "matriculation" is seldom used no ...

d 1953, who was later Prime Minister of Australia. The Goodhart Quad and the Goodhart Building (to the east, overlooking the quad and used for student accommodation) at University College, Oxford, off Logic Lane, are named in his memory. The largest lecture theatre in the Sir David Williams Building, which houses the Faculty of Law at the University of Cambridge, is also named "The Arthur Goodhart Lecture Theatre" after him. Cecily's Court, a small open area containing a fountain, located between the Goodhart Building and 83–85 High Street, is named in memory of Goodhart's wife.

Honours and titles

* 1938 Honorary bencher, Lincoln's Inn * 1943,

King's Counsel In the United Kingdom and in some Commonwealth countries, a King's Counsel (post-nominal initials KC) during the reign of a king, or Queen's Counsel (post-nominal initials QC) during the reign of a queen, is a lawyer (usually a barrister or ...

* 1948, Honorary

Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

(KBE). As a US citizen, an honorary knighthood, and name not prefixed "Sir" * 1952, Fellow of the

British Academy The British Academy is the United Kingdom's national academy for the humanities and the social sciences. It was established in 1902 and received its royal charter in the same year. It is now a fellowship of more than 1,000 leading scholars span ...

* He received honorary degrees from twenty universities * Honorary Fellow,

* Honorary Fellow, University College, Oxford

References

Sources

* ''Concise

Dictionary of National Biography The ''Dictionary of National Biography'' (''DNB'') is a standard work of reference on notable figures from British history, published since 1885. The updated ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'' (''ODNB'') was published on 23 September ...

''. * ''

Who was Who ''Who's Who'' is a reference work. It is a book, and also a CD-ROM and a website, giving information on influential people from around the world. Published annually as a book since 1849, it lists people who influence British life, according to ...

''. *

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Goodhart, Arthur Lehman 1891 births 1978 deaths American legal scholars English legal scholars Members of Lincoln's Inn 20th-century American lawyers American people of German-Jewish descent English Jews English people of German-Jewish descent English philanthropists Jewish American attorneys Hotchkiss School alumni Yale University alumni Alumni of Trinity College, Cambridge Fellows of Corpus Christi College, Cambridge Fellows of Trinity College, Cambridge Fellows of University College, Oxford Masters of University College, Oxford Academic journal editors Honorary Knights Commander of the Order of the British Empire Lawyers awarded knighthoods Members of the Inner Temple Professors of Jurisprudence (University of Oxford) American emigrants to the United Kingdom Lehman family Fellows of the British Academy British King's Counsel