George Denman (23 December 1819 – 21 September 1896) was an English barrister,
High Court judge, 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.
Early life
Denman was born at 50 Russell Square, London, the fourth son of
Thomas Denman, 1st Baron Denman
Thomas Denman, 1st Baron Denman, (23 July 177926 September 1854) was an English lawyer, judge and politician. He served as Lord Chief Justice between 1832 and 1850.
Background and education
Denman was born in London, the son of Dr Thomas Den ...
, of Dovedale, and his wife Theodosia Anne Vevers.
[the Peerage.com]
/ref> He was educated at Repton School
Repton School is a 13–18 Mixed-sex education, co-educational, Independent school (United Kingdom), independent, Day school, day and boarding school in the English Public school (United Kingdom), public school tradition, in Repton, Derbyshire, ...
and at Trinity College, Cambridge
Trinity College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Founded in 1546 by Henry VIII, King Henry VIII, Trinity is one of the largest Cambridge colleges, with the largest financial endowment of any college at either Cambridge ...
, where he was a pupil of Joseph Blakesley
Joseph Williams Blakesley (6 March 1808 – 18 April 1885) was an English clergyman.
Life
Blakesley was born in London and was educated at St Paul's School, London, and at Corpus Christi and Trinity College, Cambridge. At university he became ...
. Denman became a Fellow of Trinity College. A student 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 ...
from November 1843, he read in the chambers of Peter Bellinger Brodie
Peter Bellinger Brodie (1815 – 1 November 1897) was an English geologist and churchman, the son of the conveyancer Peter Bellinger Brodie and nephew of Sir Benjamin C. Brodie. He was born in London in 1815. While residing with his fathe ...
. In November 1844 he became a pupil of Barnes Peacock
Sir George Barnes Peacock (1805 – 3 December 1890) was an English judge who served as the first Chief Justice of the Calcutta High Court in India and the final Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Judicature at Fort William.
Peacock was th ...
, 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 ...
in November 1846.
Legal career
Denman was appointed Cambridge University counsel in 1857. He became a Queen's Counsel (QC) in 1861. In 1872 he was appointed Justice of the Court of Common Pleas
A court of common pleas is a common kind of court structure found in various common law jurisdictions. The form originated with the Court of Common Pleas at Westminster, which was created to permit individuals to press civil grievances against one ...
and resigned his seat 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. ...
. In 1875, he was appointed a Judge of the High Court, turning down the customary knighthood
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 church or the country, especially in a military capacity. Knighthood finds origins in the Gr ...
because he was the son of a peer. He retired as a judge in 1892 and in 1893 was invested as a Privy Counsellor
The Privy Council (PC), officially His Majesty's Most Honourable Privy Council, is a privy council, formal body of advisers to the British monarchy, sovereign of the United Kingdom. Its membership mainly comprises Politics of the United King ...
.
It was said of Denman that "He looked a model Judge. But he was never quite so good a Judge as he looked."
In politics
In 1856, Denman stood for parliament unsuccessfully for 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 ...
. He 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 ...
for Tiverton at the 1859 general election and held the seat until 1865. In 1866, he was re-elected MP for Tiverton.
Denman was known as a criminal law reformer. He gave evidence, however, to the Royal Commission on Capital Punishment 1864–66
The Royal Commission on Capital Punishment was a royal commission on capital punishment in the United Kingdom which worked from 1864 to 1866. It was chaired by Charles Gordon-Lennox, 6th Duke of Richmond. Commissioners disagreed on the question ...
, supporting the retention of public execution
A public execution is a form of capital punishment which "members of the general public may voluntarily attend." This definition excludes the presence of only a small number of witnesses called upon to assure executive accountability. The purpose ...
s. In parliament he interested himself in the reform of the law of evidence in criminal trials, and on 20 June 1860 moved the second reading of the Felony and Misdemeanor Bill, which aimed to assimilate proceedings for a criminal trial to those current in civil trials (at nisi prius
''Nisi prius'' () (Latin: "unless before") is a historical term in English law. In the 19th century, it came to be used to denote generally all legal actions tried before judges of the King's Bench Division and in the early twentieth century for ac ...
). The bill passed the Commons, but was abandoned after alteration in the Lords. Five years later, 22 February 1865, he successfully carried through a similar measure, the Felony and Misdemeanor Evidence and Practice Act. The Evidence Further Amendment Act of 1869, popularly known as Denman's Act, was his personal initiative. It meant that witnesses professing no religious belief were able to affirm in courts of justice, and parties previously incompetent were able to give evidence.
Death and legacy
Denman died at Cranley Gardens, London, S.W., on 21 September 1896, and was buried in the churchyard at Willian, near Hitchin. A brass with an inscription by John Edwin Sandys
Sir John Edwin Sandys ( "Sands"; 19 May 1844 – 6 July 1922) was an English classical scholar.
Life
Born in Leicester, England on 19 May 1844, Sandys was the 4th son of Rev. Timothy Sandys (1803–1871) and Rebecca Swain (1800–1853). Livin ...
was placed in the chapel of Repton School to his memory, and a memorial scholarship founded at the school by public subscription.
Works
Denman translated '' Gray's Elegy'' into Greek and dedicated the work in 1871 to Sir Alexander Cockburn
Sir Alexander James Edmund Cockburn, 12th Baronet (24 September 1802 – 20 November 1880) was a British jurist and politician who served as the Lord Chief Justice for 21 years. He heard some of the leading '' causes célèbres'' of the nin ...
, the Lord Chief Justice. He also translated Alexander Pope
Alexander Pope (21 May 1688 O.S. – 30 May 1744) was an English poet, translator, and satirist of the Enlightenment era who is considered one of the most prominent English poets of the early 18th century. An exponent of Augustan literature, ...
's ''Iliad
The ''Iliad'' (; grc, Ἰλιάς, Iliás, ; "a poem about Ilium") is one of two major ancient Greek epic poems attributed to Homer. It is one of the oldest extant works of literature still widely read by modern audiences. As with the ''Odysse ...
'' into Latin and in 1873 dedicated it to W. E. Gladstone
William Ewart Gladstone ( ; 29 December 1809 – 19 May 1898) was a British statesman and Liberal politician. In a career lasting over 60 years, he served for 12 years as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, spread over four non-conse ...
, the Prime Minister.
Oarsman
At Cambridge Denman was an energetic rower and in 1840 rowed for Trinity in the Grand Challenge Cup
The Grand Challenge Cup is a rowing competition for men's eights. It is the oldest and best-known event at the annual Henley Royal Regatta on the River Thames at Henley-on-Thames in England. It is open to male crews from all eligible rowing cl ...
at Henley Royal Regatta
Henley Royal Regatta (or Henley Regatta, its original name pre-dating Royal patronage) is a rowing event held annually on the River Thames by the town of Henley-on-Thames, England. It was established on 26 March 1839. It differs from the thre ...
. In 1841 he rowed for 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 ...
in the Boat Race
Boat racing is a sport in which boats, or other types of watercraft, race on water. Boat racing powered by oars is recorded as having occurred in ancient Egypt, and it is likely that people have engaged in races involving boats and other wate ...
. Four days before the event he was injured in a collision on the river in a training outing with his brother. He was leeched by the junior footman and recovered sufficiently that Cambridge won the race. He was also bow in the Cambridge Subscription Rooms crew that won the Grand Challenge Cup that year. In 1842, he won the Colquhoun Sculls, stroked his college boat to the head of the Cam, and rowed for Cambridge again in the Boat Race and in the Grand at Henley. In 1843 he rowed for Trinity again in the Grand in a crew down to seven oarsmen because the stroke went ill and substitutions were not permitted. Trinity lost to a full Oxford University
Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...
eight that won by two lengths.
In 1881 Denman provided an English translation of Herbert Kynaston's Latin hexameters written for the fiftieth anniversary of the Boat Race. It was published in his book, Intervalla, published in 1898; pages 67–77
Family
Denman married Charlotte Hope, daughter of Samuel Hope, on 19 February 1852.
Children of Rt. Hon. George Denman and Charlotte Hope:
Charlotte Edith Denman d. 29 Dec 1884; Grace Denman d. 16 Apr 1935; George Lewis Denman b. 5 May 1854, d. 26 May 1929; Sir Arthur Denman b. 1 May 1857, d. 15 Dec 1931; Commander Launcelot Baillie Denman b. 15 Jan 1861, d. 29 Aug 1935;
Francis Richard Amory Denman b. 5 Dec 1862, d. 5 May 1900.
Denman's brother Joseph Denman
Vice Admiral Joseph Denman (23 June 1810 – 26 November 1874) was a British naval officer, most noted for his actions against the slave trade as a commander of HMS ''Wanderer'' of the West Africa Squadron.
Early life
Denman was born on 23 Ju ...
was an admiral.[ A daughter, Edith, was the first wife of Rev. William Henry Draper, who wrote the English translation of ]All Creatures of Our God and King
"All Creatures of Our God and King" is an English Christian hymn by William Henry Draper, based on a poem by St. Francis of Assisi. It was first published in a hymn book in 1919.
History
The words of the hymn were initially written by St. Fra ...
.William Draper's obituary notice
on the Weare Village website, accessed 1 December 2015
See also
*List of Cambridge University Boat Race crews
This is a list of the Cambridge University crews who have competed in The Boat Race since its inception in 1829.
Rowers are listed left to right in boat position from bow to stroke. The number following the rower indicates the rower's weight ...
References
External links
The Rowers of Vanity Fair/Denman G Wikibooks, collection of open-content textbooks
at en.wikibooks.org
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Denman, George
1819 births
1896 deaths
People educated at Repton School
Alumni of Trinity College, Cambridge
Cambridge University Boat Club rowers
English male rowers
English barristers
19th-century English judges
Fellows of Trinity College, Cambridge
Queen's Bench Division judges
Liberal Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies
UK MPs 1859–1865
UK MPs 1865–1868
UK MPs 1868–1874
Justices of the Common Pleas
19th-century King's Counsel
Members of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom
Members of Lincoln's Inn
Younger sons of barons
Common Pleas Division judges
George
George may refer to:
People
* George (given name)
* George (surname)
* George (singer), American-Canadian singer George Nozuka, known by the mononym George
* George Washington, First President of the United States
* George W. Bush, 43rd Presid ...