Courtney Stanhope Kenny (18 March 1847 – 18 March 1930) was a British jurist, academic and

Liberal Liberal or liberalism may refer to: Politics * a supporter of liberalism ** Liberalism by country * an adherent of a Liberal Party * Liberalism (international relations) * Sexually liberal feminism * Social liberalism Arts, entertainment and m ...

politician. He sat in the

House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of parliament. ...

from 1885 to 1888, and was later

Downing Professor of the Laws of England The Downing Professorship of the Laws of England is one of the senior professorships in law at the University of Cambridge. The chair was founded in 1800 as a bequest of Sir George Downing, the founder of Downing College, Cambridge. The profe ...

Downing College Downing College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge and currently has around 650 students. Founded in 1800, it was the only college to be added to Cambridge University between 1596 and 1869, and is often described as the olde ...

University of Cambridge , 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 ...

. He is buried with his family in the Parish of the Ascension Burial Ground in Cambridge.A Cambridge Necropolis by Dr.

Mark Goldie Mark Goldie is an English historian and Professor of Intellectual History at Churchill College, Cambridge. He has written on the English political theorist John Locke and is a member of the Early Modern History and Political Thought and Intellec ...

, 2000

Early life and career

Kenny was born on the Wirral, the son of William Fenton Kenny J.P. of Halifax and Ripon and his wife Agnes Ralph, daughter of John Rhodes Ralph J.P. of Halifax.Debretts House of Commons and the Judicial Bench 1886
/ref> He was educated at the

Heath A heath () is a shrubland habitat found mainly on free-draining infertile, acidic soils and characterised by open, low-growing woody vegetation. Moorland is generally related to high-ground heaths with—especially in Great Britain—a cooler ...

and

Hipperholme Hipperholme is a village in West Yorkshire, England, located between the towns of Halifax and Brighouse in the Hipperholme and Lightcliffe ward of the Metropolitan Borough of Calderdale. The population of this ward at the 2011 Census was 11,3 ...

grammar schools and joined a firm of solicitors in 1863. In 1869 he became a partner but decided to leave and pursue a university education, entering

Downing College, Cambridge Downing College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge and currently has around 650 students. Founded in 1800, it was the only college to be added to Cambridge University between 1596 and 1869, and is often described as the olde ...

in 1871. His career at university was particularly brilliant; in 1872 he was awarded a scholarship, in 1874 he was senior in the law and history

tripos At the University of Cambridge, a Tripos (, plural 'Triposes') is any of the examinations that qualify an undergraduate for a bachelor's degree or the courses taken by a student to prepare for these. For example, an undergraduate studying mathe ...

, won the Winchester Reading Prize, and was elected president of the union. In 1875, he won the chancellor's medal for legal studies. Kenny was elected a fellow of Downing College in 1875 and was appointed to a lecturership in law and moral science. In three successive years, 1877, 1878, 1879, he submitted an essay which won him thrice the

Yorke Prize The Yorke Prize is awarded annually by the Faculty of Law at the University of Cambridge for an essay of between 30,000 and 100,000 words on a legal subject, including the history, analysis, administration and reform of law, "of exceptional quality ...

; the essays were on the history of the law of

primogeniture Primogeniture ( ) is the right, by law or custom, of the firstborn legitimate child to inherit the parent's entire or main estate in preference to shared inheritance among all or some children, any illegitimate child or any collateral relativ ...

(jointly with

Perceval Maitland Laurence Sir Perceval Maitland Laurence (20 April 185428 February 1930) was an English classical scholar, judge in South Africa and a benefactor of the University of Cambridge and the University of Cape Town. Early life and education Perceval Maitland ...

), the law relating to married women's property, and the law of charities. In 1881 Kenny was called to the bar at

Lincoln's Inn The Honourable Society of Lincoln's Inn is one of the four Inns of Court in London to which barristers of England and Wales belong and where they are called to the Bar. (The other three are Middle Temple, Inner Temple and Gray's Inn.) Lincoln ...

and joined the south-eastern circuit.

Political career

At the 1885 general election Kenny was elected

Member of Parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members of ...

(MP) for the Barnsley division of Yorkshire, and at the general election of June 1886 he was again returned as a

. While in parliament he introduced bills for the abolition of primogeniture and for the amendment of the law relating to

blasphemy Blasphemy is a speech crime and religious crime usually defined as an utterance that shows contempt, disrespects or insults a deity, an object considered sacred or something considered inviolable. Some religions regard blasphemy as a religiou ...

, which demanded the repeal of the laws restricting the expression of religious opinion.

Cambridge Professor

In 1888 Kenny became university reader of English law 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 resigned from parliament to concentrate on work at the university. In 1907 he was elected to replace the recently deceased

Frederic William Maitland Frederic William Maitland (28 May 1850 – ) was an English historian and lawyer who is regarded as the modern father of English legal history. Early life and education, 1850–72 Frederic William Maitland was born at 53 Guilford Street, Lon ...

, a position he held until his retirement in 1918. He died in

Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a university city and the county town in Cambridgeshire, England. It is located on the River Cam approximately north of London. As of the 2021 United Kingdom census, the population of Cambridge was 145,700. Cambridge bec ...

aged 83. Two student residence buildings at Downing College are named in his honour.

Selected bibliography

* ''The Law of England on the Effects of Marriage on Property'', Yorke Prize 1877 * ''The History of the Law of Primogeniture'', Yorke Prize 1878 * ''The true principles of legislation with regard to property given for charitable or other public uses'' or ''Endowed Charities'', Yorke Prize 1879?1880 * ''A Selection of Cases Illustrative of English Criminal Law'', 1901 * ''A selection of cases illustrative of the English law of tort'', 1908 * ''Outlines of Criminal Law'', 1902, textbook with at least 19 re-editions to 1966, ** including, with

James H. Webb James Henry Webb Jr. (born February 9, 1946) is an American politician and author. He has served as a United States senator from Virginia, Secretary of the Navy, Assistant Secretary of Defense for Reserve Affairs, Counsel for the United States ...

, an American edition in 1907archive.org: "Outlines of criminal law"
by Kenny, Courtney Stanhope, 1847-1930; Webb, James Henry, 1854-1924. New York: The Macmillan Company, 1907.

Family

Kenny married Emily Gertrude Wiseman (2 July 1849 – 27 November 1929) daughter of William Wood Wiseman M.R.C.S. of

Ossett, Yorkshire Ossett is a market town in the City of Wakefield metropolitan borough in West Yorkshire, England. Historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire, it is situated between Dewsbury, Horbury and Wakefield. At the 2011 Census, the population ...

in 1876. They had two daughters, Gertrude (died 9 September 1958) and Agnes (died 11 January 1966); all are buried together in the Parish of the Ascension Burial Ground in Cambridge.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Kenny, Courtney 1847 births 1930 deaths Alumni of Downing College, Cambridge Fellows of Downing College, Cambridge Liberal Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies UK MPs 1885–1886 UK MPs 1886–1892 Members of Lincoln's Inn People educated at Heath Grammar School Presidents of the Cambridge Union English legal writers English legal scholars British legal scholars British legal writers Fellows of the British Academy Downing Professors of the Laws of England