Sir George Whitecross Paton (16 August 1902 – 16 June 1985) was an Australian legal scholar and

Vice-Chancellor A chancellor is a leader of a college or university, usually either the executive or ceremonial head of the university or of a university campus within a university system. In most Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth and former Commonwealth n ...

Melbourne University The University of Melbourne is a public research university located in Melbourne, Australia. Founded in 1853, it is Australia's second oldest university and the oldest in Victoria. Its main campus is located in Parkville, an inner suburb nor ...

from 1951 until 1968.

Early life and education

Paton was born on 16 August 1902 in

Geelong, Victoria Geelong ( ) (Wathawurrung: ''Djilang''/''Djalang'') is a port city in the southeastern Australian state of Victoria, located at the eastern end of Corio Bay (the smaller western portion of Port Phillip Bay) and the left bank of Barwon River, a ...

. His parents were Frank Hume Lyall Paton (son of

John Gibson Paton John Gibson Paton (24 May 1824 – 28 January 1907), born in Scotland, was a Protestant missionary to the New Hebrides Islands of the South Pacific. He brought to the natives of the New Hebrides education and Christianity. He developed small in ...

) and Clara Sophia Heyer. He was educated at

Scotch College, Melbourne (For God, for Country, and for Learning) , established = , type = Independent, day and boarding , gender = Boys , denomination = Presbyterian , slogan = , ...

(1914–1920), and then

(1921–1925). He won the

Rhodes Scholarship The Rhodes Scholarship is an international postgraduate award for students to study at the University of Oxford, in the United Kingdom. Established in 1902, it is the oldest graduate scholarship in the world. It is considered among the world' ...

for

Victoria (Australia) Victoria is a state in southeastern Australia. It is the second-smallest state with a land area of , the second most populated state (after New South Wales) with a population of over 6.5 million, and the most densely populated state in ...

in 1925, which allowed him to continue his studies at

Magdalen College, Oxford Magdalen College (, ) is a constituent college of the University of Oxford. It was founded in 1458 by William of Waynflete. Today, it is the fourth wealthiest college, with a financial endowment of £332.1 million as of 2019 and one of the s ...

, from 1926 to 1929. He married Alice Watson (1905–1994) on 11 July 1931 and they had four children.

Academic life

Paton became a

barrister A barrister is a type of lawyer in common law jurisdictions. Barristers mostly specialise in courtroom advocacy and litigation. Their tasks include taking cases in superior courts and tribunals, drafting legal pleadings, researching law and ...

-at-law in 1927 and lectured in law at the

London School of Economics , mottoeng = To understand the causes of things , established = , type = Public research university , endowment = £240.8 million (2021) , budget = £391.1 millio ...

. In 1931 he was appointed

Professor Professor (commonly abbreviated as Prof.) is an Academy, academic rank at university, universities and other post-secondary education and research institutions in most countries. Literally, ''professor'' derives from Latin as a "person who pr ...

Jurisprudence Jurisprudence, or legal theory, is the theoretical study of the propriety of law. Scholars of jurisprudence seek to explain the nature of law in its most general form and they also seek to achieve a deeper understanding of legal reasoning a ...

at the

University of Melbourne The University of Melbourne is a public research university located in Melbourne, Australia. Founded in 1853, it is Australia's second oldest university and the oldest in Victoria. Its main campus is located in Parkville, an inner suburb nor ...

and became

dean Dean may refer to: People * Dean (given name) * Dean (surname), a surname of Anglo-Saxon English origin * Dean (South Korean singer), a stage name for singer Kwon Hyuk * Dean Delannoit, a Belgian singer most known by the mononym Dean Titles * ...

of the Faculty of Law in 1943. In 1951 he was appointed

vice-chancellor A chancellor is a leader of a college or university, usually either the executive or ceremonial head of the university or of a university campus within a university system. In most Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth and former Commonwealth n ...

and held the position until his retirement in 1968. After retirement he was president of the Australian and New Zealand Society of Criminology Inc. (ANZSOC) from 1969 to 1971

Major publication

Paton's major published work, ''A Text-Book of Jurisprudence'', appeared in 1946 and went through further editions. It won the Swiney Prize, a British award for works on jurisprudence. In Australia and elsewhere, it was (in one reviewer's words) "to many students ''the'' text-book of jurisprudence".

Royal Commission on Television in Australia (1953-1954)

On 5 February 1953, Paton was appointed Chairman of the Royal Commission on Television in Australia. Other members of the commission were C.B. Bednall, Mrs. Maud Foxton, R.G. Osborne, R.C. Wilson and N.S. Young. Its object was to enable Australia to profit from the experience of other countries in introducing and controlling television. The enquiry considered the numbers of national and commercial channels to be established, the economics involved and standards to be observed.

References

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Paton, George Whitecross 1902 births 1985 deaths Australian legal scholars Australian Rhodes Scholars University of Melbourne alumni Alumni of Magdalen College, Oxford People educated at Scotch College, Melbourne