Sir Edmund Widdrington Byrne (30 June 1844 – 4 April 1904) was a British judge and

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politician.

Life

Byrne was born in

Islington Islington () is a district in the north of Greater London, England, and part of the London Borough of Islington. It is a mainly residential district of Inner London, extending from Islington's High Street to Highbury Fields, encompassing the ar ...

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, and was the son of Edmund Byrne, solicitor, and his wife Mary Elizabeth, née Cowell. He was educated at

King's College London King's College London (informally King's or KCL) is a public research university located in London, England. King's was established by royal charter in 1829 under the patronage of King George IV and the Duke of Wellington. In 1836, King's ...

and was

called to the bar The call to the bar is a legal term of art in most common law jurisdictions where persons must be qualified to be allowed to argue in court on behalf of another party and are then said to have been "called to the bar" or to have received "call to ...

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 ...

in 1867. In 1874, he married Henrietta Gulland of Newton Wemyss,

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. He established a

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and

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practice, and "took silk" to become a

Queen's Counsel In the United Kingdom and in some Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth countries, a King's Counsel (Post-nominal letters, post-nominal initials KC) during the reign of a king, or Queen's Counsel (post-nominal initials QC) during the reign of ...

in 1888, and attached himself to the court of Mr Justice Chitty. In

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he was selected to contest the South Western or Walthamstow Division of

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as the candidate of the

. He was elected, and retained the seat with an increased majority at the ensuing election in 1895. In January 1897, Mr Justice Chitty retired, and Byrne was selected to fill the vacancy as a judge of the

Chancery Division The High Court of Justice in London, known properly as His Majesty's High Court of Justice in England, together with the Court of Appeal and the Crown Court, are the Senior Courts of England and Wales. Its name is abbreviated as EWHC (England ...

of the

High Court of Justice The High Court of Justice in London, known properly as His Majesty's High Court of Justice in England, together with the Court of Appeal of England and Wales, Court of Appeal and the Crown Court, are the Courts of England and Wales, Senior Cou ...

. This required him to resign his seat in parliament. He was

knighted A knight is a person granted an honorary title of knighthood by a head of state (including the Pope) or representative for service to the monarch, the Christian denomination, church or the country, especially in a military capacity. Knighthood ...

in May of the same year. He continued to sit at the High Court until shortly before his death at age 59 at his London home, 33

Lancaster Gate Lancaster Gate is a mid-19th century development in the Bayswater district of central London, immediately to the north of Kensington Gardens. It consists of two long terraces of houses overlooking the park, with a wide gap between them openi ...

, from acute

bronchitis Bronchitis is inflammation of the bronchi (large and medium-sized airways) in the lungs that causes coughing. Bronchitis usually begins as an infection in the nose, ears, throat, or sinuses. The infection then makes its way down to the bronchi. ...

and

pneumonia Pneumonia is an inflammatory condition of the lung primarily affecting the small air sacs known as alveoli. Symptoms typically include some combination of productive or dry cough, chest pain, fever, and difficulty breathing. The severity ...

. He was buried at

Brookwood Cemetery Brookwood Cemetery, also known as the London Necropolis, is a burial ground in Brookwood, Surrey, England. It is the largest cemetery in the United Kingdom and one of the largest in Europe. The cemetery is listed a Grade I site in the Regist ...

Family

Byrne married Henrietta Johnstone, on 13 August 1874. She was the daughter of James Gulland of Newton, of Wemyss, Fifeshire.

Arms

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Byrne, Edmund Widdrington 1844 births 1904 deaths Alumni of King's College London Members of Lincoln's Inn Conservative Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies UK MPs 1892–1895 Burials at Brookwood Cemetery UK MPs 1895–1900 Chancery Division judges Knights Bachelor