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Edward Law, 1st Baron Ellenborough (16 November 1750 – 13 December 1818), was an English judge. After serving as a member of parliament and
Attorney General In most common law jurisdictions, the attorney general (: attorneys general) or attorney-general (AG or Atty.-Gen) is the main legal advisor to the government. In some jurisdictions, attorneys general also have executive responsibility for law enf ...
, he became
Lord Chief Justice The Lord or Lady Chief Justice of England and Wales is the head of the judiciary of England and Wales and the president of the courts of England and Wales. Until 2005 the lord chief justice was the second-most senior judge of the English a ...
.


Early life

Law was born at Great Salkeld, in
Cumberland Cumberland ( ) is an area of North West England which was historically a county. The county was bordered by Northumberland to the north-east, County Durham to the east, Westmorland to the south-east, Lancashire to the south, and the Scottish ...
, of which place his father, Edmund Law (1703–1787), afterwards
Bishop of Carlisle The Bishop of Carlisle is the Ordinary (officer), Ordinary of the Church of England Diocese of Carlisle in the Province of York. The diocese covers the county of Cumbria except for Alston Moor and the former Sedbergh Rural District. The Episcop ...
, was at the time rector. His mother was Mary Christian, daughter of John Christan of Ewanrigg, Cumberland. Educated at the Charterhouse and at
Peterhouse, Cambridge Peterhouse is the oldest Colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge in England, founded in 1284 by Hugh de Balsham, Bishop of Ely. Peterhouse has around 300 undergraduate and 175 graduate stud ...
, he passed as third wrangler, and was soon afterwards elected to a fellowship at
Trinity The Trinity (, from 'threefold') is the Christian doctrine concerning the nature of God, which defines one God existing in three, , consubstantial divine persons: God the Father, God the Son (Jesus Christ) and God the Holy Spirit, thr ...
. In spite of his father's strong wish that he should take
holy orders In certain Christian denominations, holy orders are the ordination, ordained ministries of bishop, priest (presbyter), and deacon, and the sacrament or rite by which candidates are ordained to those orders. Churches recognizing these orders inclu ...
, he chose the legal profession, and on quitting the university was entered at
Lincoln's Inn The Honourable Society of Lincoln's Inn, commonly known as Lincoln's Inn, is one of the four Inns of Court (professional associations for Barrister, barristers and judges) in London. To be called to the bar in order to practise as a barrister ...
.


Career

After spending five years as a special pleader under the bar, he was called to the bar in 1780. He chose the northern circuit, and in a very short time obtained a lucrative practice and a high reputation. In 1787 he was appointed principal counsel for
Warren Hastings Warren Hastings (6 December 1732 – 22 August 1818) was a British colonial administrator, who served as the first governor of the Presidency of Fort William (Bengal), the head of the Supreme Council of Bengal, and so the first governor-gener ...
in the celebrated impeachment trial before the
House of Lords The House of Lords is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the lower house, the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminster in London, England. One of the oldest ext ...
, and the ability with which he conducted the defence was universally recognised. He was made a
King's Counsel A King's Counsel (Post-nominal letters, post-nominal initials KC) is a senior lawyer appointed by the monarch (or their Viceroy, viceregal representative) of some Commonwealth realms as a "Counsel learned in the law". When the reigning monarc ...
that year. In 1798, he was made a Fellow of the
Society of Antiquaries of London The Society of Antiquaries of London (SAL) is a learned society of historians and archaeologists in the United Kingdom. It was founded in 1707, received its royal charter in 1751 and is a Charitable organization, registered charity. It is based ...
. He had begun his political career as a Whig, but, like many others, he saw in the French Revolution a reason for changing sides, and became a supporter of Pitt. On the formation of the Addington ministry in 1801, he was appointed
Attorney General In most common law jurisdictions, the attorney general (: attorneys general) or attorney-general (AG or Atty.-Gen) is the main legal advisor to the government. In some jurisdictions, attorneys general also have executive responsibility for law enf ...
and shortly afterwards was returned to the
House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the Bicameralism, 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 ...
as Member of Parliament for Newtown in the
Isle of Wight The Isle of Wight (Help:IPA/English, /waɪt/ Help:Pronunciation respelling key, ''WYTE'') is an island off the south coast of England which, together with its surrounding uninhabited islets and Skerry, skerries, is also a ceremonial county. T ...
. He was
knighted A knight is a person granted an honorary title of a knighthood by a head of state (including the pope) or representative for service to the monarch, the church, or the country, especially in a military capacity. The concept of a knighthood ...
in the same year. In 1802 he succeeded Lord Kenyon as Lord Chief Justice of the King's Bench. On being raised to the bench he was created Baron Ellenborough, of Ellenborough, in the County in Cumberland, taken from the village where his maternal ancestors had long held a small patrimony. In 1803, he presided over the treason trial of Colonel Edward Despard. In denying the jury's motion for clemency (following the character witness of Vice-Admiral Nelson) Lord Ellenborough emphasised the revolutionary nature of Despard's purpose. It was, he claimed, not only to rend the new union between Great Britain and Ireland, but also to affect "the forcible reduction to one common level of all the advantages of property, of all civil and political rights whatsoever". Later that same year, 1803, he was appointed to the
Privy Council of the United Kingdom The Privy Council, formally His Majesty's Most Honourable Privy Council, is a privy council, formal body of advisers to the sovereign of the United Kingdom. Its members, known as privy counsellors, are mainly senior politicians who are curre ...
. In 1803, he introduced a bill to Parliament which went on to become the Malicious Shooting or Stabbing Act 1803 (often referred to as ''Lord Ellenborough's Act'') which clarified the law on abortion in England and Ireland. In 1806, on the death of
William Pitt the Younger William Pitt (28 May 1759 – 23 January 1806) was a British statesman who served as the last prime minister of Kingdom of Great Britain, Great Britain from 1783 until the Acts of Union 1800, and then first Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, p ...
, Lord Ellenborough served as
Chancellor of the Exchequer The chancellor of the exchequer, often abbreviated to chancellor, is a senior minister of the Crown within the Government of the United Kingdom, and the head of HM Treasury, His Majesty's Treasury. As one of the four Great Offices of State, t ...
for two weeks ''ad interim''. On the formation of Lord Grenville's ministry " of all the talents", Lord Ellenborough declined the offer of the office of Lord Chancellor, but accepted a seat in the cabinet. In February 1806 he found former Governor Thomas Picton guilty of the torture of Luisa Calderon. Being in the cabinet while he retained the chief justiceship was much criticised at the time, and, though not without precedent, was open to such obvious objections on constitutional grounds that the experiment was never repeated. As a judge, his decisions displayed profound legal knowledge, and in mercantile law especially were reckoned of high authority. He was harsh and overbearing to counsel, and in the political trials which were so frequent in his time, such as that of Lord Cochrane for Stock Exchange fraud in 1814, showed an unmistakable bias against the accused. In the trial of William Hone for
blasphemy Blasphemy refers to an insult that shows contempt, disrespect or lack of Reverence (emotion), reverence concerning a deity, an object considered sacred, or something considered Sanctity of life, inviolable. Some religions, especially Abrahamic o ...
in 1817, Ellenborough directed the jury to find a verdict of guilty, and their acquittal of the prisoner is generally said to have hastened his death. On the other hand, his humane and enlightened judgment in ''R. v. Inhabitants of Eastbourne'' that destitute French refugees in England have a fundamental human right to be given sufficient means to enable them to live, has been much praised and frequently followed. In the field of
copyright A copyright is a type of intellectual property that gives its owner the exclusive legal right to copy, distribute, adapt, display, and perform a creative work, usually for a limited time. The creative work may be in a literary, artistic, ...
, his judgment in ''Cary v Kearsley''(1802) 4 Esp. 168. that "a man may fairly adopt part of the work of another for the promotion of science.....one must not put manacles on science" was extremely influential in developing the doctrine of
fair use Fair use is a Legal doctrine, doctrine in United States law that permits limited use of copyrighted material without having to first acquire permission from the copyright holder. Fair use is one of the limitations to copyright intended to bal ...
. He resigned his judicial office in November 1818, and died shortly after.


Family

Lord Ellenborough married, on 17 October 1789, Ann Towry (1769–1843), the daughter of George Phillips Towry of Foliejon Park at Winkfield in Berkshire and his wife, Elizabeth. They had five sons and five daughters who survived infancy: *Hon. Elizabeth Susan (d. 31 March 1883) married Charles Abbot, 2nd Baron Colchester. They had one son, Reginald *Hon. Anne (d. 30 May 1852) married Adm. John Colville, 9th Lord Colville. They had no children. *Hon. Mary Frederica (d. 16 September 1851) married Lt.-Gen. Thomas Dyneley on 10 July 1827. They had three sons and one daughter. *Hon. Frederica Selina (d. 16 April 1879) married Capt. Henry James Ramsden, son of Sir John Ramsden, 4th Baronet. They had five sons and four daughters. * Edward Law, 1st Earl of Ellenborough (8 September 1790 – 22 December 1871) *Hon. Charles Ewan (14 June 1792 – 13 August 1850) *Hon. Henry Spencer (10 May 1802 – 15 July 1885) *Hon. William Towry (16 June 1809 – 31 October 1886) was married twice. Firstly to Hon. Augusta Champagne Graves, daughter of Thomas Graves, 2nd Baron Graves, on 15 March 1831. Two years after her death he married secondly, Matilda Montgomery, daughter of Sir Conyngham Montgomery, 1st Baronet, on 25 January 1846. He had five sons, one daughter with Augusta and two more sons and a daughter with Matilda. *Hon. Frances Henrietta (11 February 1812 – 2 March 1894) married twice. Firstly, Charles Des Voeux, son of Sir Charles Des Voeux, 2nd Baronet, on 8 March 1832. Charles died a little over a year later, and Frances married secondly Sir Robert Dallas, 2nd Baronet, on 29 September 1841. With Sir Robert, she had at least one daughter. He was succeeded as second baron by his eldest son, Edward, later the Earl of Ellenborough; another son, Charles, was
Recorder of London The recorder of London is an ancient legal office in the City of London. The recorder of London is the senior circuit judge at the Central Criminal Court (the Old Bailey), hearing trials of criminal offences. The recorder is appointed by the Cr ...
and Member of Parliament for
Cambridge University The University of Cambridge is a Public university, public collegiate university, collegiate research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209, the University of Cambridge is the List of oldest universities in continuous operation, wo ...
UK 1835 until his death. Three of Ellenborough's brothers attained some degree of fame. These were John Law (1745–1810),
Bishop of Elphin The Bishop of Elphin (; ) is an Episcopal polity, episcopal title which takes its name after the village of Elphin, County Roscommon, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. In the Catholic Church, Roman Catholic Church it remains a separate title, but ...
; Thomas Law (1759–1834), who settled in the United States in 1793, and married, as his second wife, Eliza Custis, a granddaughter of
Martha Washington Martha Dandridge Custis Washington (June 2, 1731 Old Style, O.S. – May 22, 1802) was the wife of George Washington, who was the first president of the United States. Although the title was not coined until after her death, she served as the ...
; and George Henry Law (1761–1845),
Bishop of Chester The Bishop of Chester is the Ordinary of the Church of England Diocese of Chester in the Province of York. The diocese extends across most of the historic county boundaries of Cheshire, including the Wirral Peninsula and has its see in the ...
and of Bath and Wells. The connection of the Law family with the English Church was kept up by George Henry's sons, three of whom took orders. Two of these were Henry Law (1797–1884), Dean of Gloucester, and James Thomas Law (1790–1876), chancellor of the
Diocese of Lichfield The Diocese of Lichfield is a Church of England diocese in the Province of Canterbury, England. The bishop's seat is located in the Cathedral Church of the Blessed Virgin Mary and Saint Chad in the city of Lichfield. The diocese covers of seve ...
.


Arms


Footnotes


References

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Ellenborough, Edward Law, 1st Baron 1750 births 1818 deaths People educated at Charterhouse School Lord chief justices of England and Wales Knights Bachelor Peers of the United Kingdom created by George III Members of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom Alumni of Peterhouse, Cambridge Law, Edward Members of Lincoln's Inn Members of the Inner Temple Law, Edward Law, Edward UK MPs who were granted peerages 1
Edward Edward is an English male name. It is derived from the Anglo-Saxon name ''Ēadweard'', composed of the elements '' ēad'' "wealth, fortunate; prosperous" and '' weard'' "guardian, protector”. History The name Edward was very popular in Anglo-S ...
People from Great Salkeld