Edward Theophilus Nelson (22 October 1874 – 3 August 1940) was a British barrister and local politician born in

British Guiana British Guiana was a British colony, part of the mainland British West Indies, which resides on the northern coast of South America. Since 1966 it has been known as the independent nation of Guyana. The first European to encounter Guiana was S ...

. In 1910 he attained fame as the 'coloured barrister' who successfully defended Mark Wilde, accused of the murder of George Storrs at

Stalybridge Stalybridge () is a town in Tameside, Greater Manchester, England, with a population of 23,731 at the 2011 Census. Historic counties of England, Historically divided between Cheshire and Lancashire, it is east of Manchester city centre and no ...

Life

Edward Nelson was born on 22 October 1874 in Georgetown, the son of a builder. He studied at

St John's College, Oxford St John's College is a constituent college of the University of Oxford. Founded as a men's college in 1555, it has been coeducational since 1979.Communication from Michael Riordan, college archivist Its founder, Sir Thomas White, intended to pro ...

, where he was secretary and treasurer of the

Oxford Union The Oxford Union Society, commonly referred to simply as the Oxford Union, is a debating society in the city of Oxford England, whose membership is drawn primarily from the University of Oxford. Founded in 1823, it is one of Britain's oldest ...

, and graduated in 1902. He was called to the Bar from

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 1904. In March 1913 Nelson was elected to

Hale Hale may refer to: Places Australia *Hale, Northern Territory, a locality *Hale River, in southeastern Northern Territory Canada *Hale, Ontario, in Algoma District United Kingdom * Hale, Cumbria, a hamlet near Beetham, Cumbria *Hale, Greater Man ...

Urban District Council In England and Wales, Northern Ireland, and the Republic of Ireland, an urban district was a type of local government district that covered an urbanised area. Urban districts had an elected urban district council (UDC), which shared local gove ...

for the

Conservative Party The Conservative Party is a name used by many political parties around the world. These political parties are generally right-wing though their exact ideologies can range from center-right to far-right. Political parties called The Conservative P ...

. He continued to be returned to the council until his death in 1940.https://www.sjc.ox.ac.uk/discover/about-college/st-johns-and-colonial-past/exhibition/edward-theophilus-nelson/ In 1919 Nelson defended Africans accused of rioting in

Liverpool Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a popul ...

. In 1931 he was involved in the establishment of the

League of Coloured Peoples The League of Coloured Peoples (LCP) was a British civil-rights organization that was founded in 1931 in London by Jamaican-born physician and campaigner Harold Moody with the goal of racial equality around the world, a primary focus being on bl ...

. Nelson died in 1940.

References

External links

Edward T. Nelson (1874?-1940), Lancashire lawyer
{{DEFAULTSORT:Nelson, Edward Theophilus Black British lawyers 1874 births 1940 deaths Alumni of St John's College, Oxford People from Georgetown, Guyana Politicians from British Guiana English people of Guyanese descent Emigrants from British Guiana Immigrants to the United Kingdom Black British politicians Conservative Party (UK) councillors