Charles John Pearson, Lord Pearson (6 November 1843 – 15 August 1910) was a Scottish politician and judge who rose to be a

Senator of the College of Justice The senators of the College of Justice in Scotland are judges of the College of Justice, a set of legal institutions involved in the administration of justice in Scotland. There are three types of senator: Lords of Session (judges of the Court ...

Life

He was born in

Edinburgh Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. The city is located in southeast Scotland and is bounded to the north by the Firth of Forth and to the south by the Pentland Hills. Edinburgh ...

on 6 November 1843. He was second son of Charles Pearson, chartered accountant, of Edinburgh, by his wife Margaret, daughter of John Dalziel, solicitor, of Earlston,

Berwickshire Berwickshire (; ) is a historic county, registration county and lieutenancy area in south-eastern Scotland, on the English border. The county takes its name from Berwick-upon-Tweed, its original county town, which was part of Scotland at the ...

. The family lived at Murrayfield House in west Edinburgh. After attending Edinburgh Academy, he proceeded to the

University of St. Andrews The University of St Andrews (, ; abbreviated as St And in post-nominals) is a public university in St Andrews, Scotland. It is the oldest of the four ancient universities of Scotland and, following the universities of Oxford and Cambridge, t ...

, and thence to

Corpus Christi College, Oxford Corpus Christi College (formally, Corpus Christi College in the University of Oxford; informally abbreviated as Corpus or CCC) is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom. Founded in 1517 by Richard Fo ...

, where he distinguished himself in classics, winning the Gaisford Greek prizes for prose (1862) and verse (1863). He graduated B.A. with a first class in the final classical school in 1865. He afterwards attended law lectures in Edinburgh, and became a member of the Juridical Society, of which he was librarian in 1872–3, and of the Speculative Society (president 1869–71). He was called to the English bar (from 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 association for barristers and judges. To be called to the Bar and practice as a barrister in England and Wa ...

) on 10 June 1870, and on 19 July 1870 passed to the Scottish bar, where he rapidly obtained a large practice. Though not one of the crown counsel for Scotland, he was specially retained for the prosecution at the trial of the

City of Glasgow Bank The City of Glasgow Bank was a bank in Scotland that was largely known for its spectacular collapse in October 1878, which ruined all but 254 of its 1,200 shareholders since their liability was unlimited. History The bank was founded in 1839 ...

directors (January 1879), became sheriff of chancery in 1885, and

Procurator Procurator (with procuracy or procuratorate referring to the office itself) may refer to: * Procurator, one engaged in procuration, the action of taking care of, hence management, stewardship, agency * Procurator (Ancient Rome), the title of var ...

and cashier for the Church of Scotland in 1886. In 1887, he was knighted, and was appointed

sheriff of Renfrew and Bute Renfrew (; ; ) is a town west of Glasgow in the west central Lowlands of Scotland. It is the historic county town of Renfrewshire (historic), Renfrewshire. Called the "Cradle of the House of Stewart, Royal Stewarts" for its early link with Sc ...

in 1888 and of

Perthshire Perthshire (Scottish English, locally: ; ), officially the County of Perth, is a Shires of Scotland, historic county and registration county in central Scotland. Geographically it extends from Strathmore, Angus and Perth & Kinross, Strathmore ...

in 1889. Pearson was a

conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy and ideology that seeks to promote and preserve traditional institutions, customs, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civiliza ...

, though not a keen politician, and in 1890 was appointed

Solicitor General for Scotland His Majesty's Solicitor General for Scotland () is one of the Law Officers of the Crown, and the deputy of the Lord Advocate, whose duty is to advise the Scottish Government on Scots Law. They are also responsible for the Crown Office and P ...

Lord Salisbury Robert Arthur Talbot Gascoyne-Cecil, 3rd Marquess of Salisbury (; 3 February 183022 August 1903), known as Lord Salisbury, was a British statesman and Conservative Party (UK), Conservative politician who served as Prime Minister of the United ...

's second administration, and was elected (unopposed) as Edinburgh and St Andrews Universities. In the same year he became

Q.C. QC may refer to: Places * Quebec, a Canadian province ** Quebec City, its capital * Quezon City, Philippines * The Quad Cities, an American metropolitan area along the Mississippi River * QualiEd College, a Hong Kong high school Arts and entert ...

In 1891, he succeeded James Patrick Bannerman Robertson, as lord advocate, and was sworn of the privy council. At the general election of 1892, he was again returned unopposed for Edinburgh and St. Andrews Universities. After the fall of Lord Salisbury's ministry in 1892, he ceased to be lord advocate, and was chosen dean of the Faculty of Advocates. He received the honorary degree of LL.D. from Edinburgh University in 1894, and on the return of the conservatives to power in the following year became again lord advocate, and resigned the deanship. In 1896, on the resignation of

Andrew Rutherfurd-Clark, Lord Rutherfurd-Clark Andrew Rutherfurd Clark, Lord Rutherfurd-Clark (1828 – 26 July 1899) was a Scottish judge. Life He was born Andrew Clark the second son of Rev. Thomas Clark (1790-1857), minister of Methven in central Perthshire at the time of Andrew's birt ...

, he was raised to the bench, from which he retired, owing to bad health, in 1909. In later life he lived at 7 Drumsheugh Gardens, a large Victorian townhouse in

's West End.Edinburgh and Leith Post Office Directory, 1905-6 He died at home in Edinburgh on 15 August 1910, and was buried in the

Dean Cemetery The Dean Cemetery is a historically important Victorian cemetery north of the Dean Village, west of Edinburgh city centre, in Scotland. It lies between Queensferry Road and the Water of Leith, bounded on its east side by Dean Path and o ...

. He is buried against the north wall of the Victorian northern extension, near the north-west corner.

Family

On 23 July 1873, Pearson married Elizabeth Hewat, daughter of M. Grayhurst Hewat of St. Cuthbert's, Norwood, by whom he had three sons.

Notes

References

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External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Pearson, Charles John 1843 births 1910 deaths Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for Edinburgh and St Andrews Universities Scottish Tory MPs (pre-1912)

Pearson Pearson may refer to: Organizations Education * Lester B. Pearson College, Victoria, British Columbia, Canada * Pearson College (UK), London, owned by Pearson PLC *Lester B. Pearson High School (disambiguation) Companies * Pearson plc, a UK-based ...

Lord advocates Solicitors general for Scotland UK MPs 1886–1892 UK MPs 1892–1895 UK MPs 1895–1900 People educated at Edinburgh Academy Alumni of Corpus Christi College, Oxford Scottish sheriffs Deans of the Faculty of Advocates Knights Bachelor Scottish King's Counsel 19th-century King's Counsel Members of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom