Henry Byerley Thomson (1822–1867) was an English barrister and jurist, and the 12th

Queen's Advocate of Ceylon The Attorney General of Sri Lanka is the Sri Lankan government's chief law, legal adviser, and its primary lawyer in the Supreme Court of Sri Lanka. The Attorney General is usually a highly respected Senior Advocate, and is appointed by the rulin ...

. Initially Henry William Thomson, in 1846 he added his mother's maiden name, and was known as Henry Byerley Thomson or Henry William Byerley Thomson.

Life

He was the son of

Anthony Todd Thomson Anthony Todd Thomson (7 January 1778 – 3 July 1849) was a Scottish doctor and pioneer of dermatology. Life Anthony Todd Thomson was the younger son of Alexander Thomson and was born in Edinburgh, where his parents were staying temporarily, on ...

by his second wife Katharine Byerley, whose surname he assumed in later life, and was born in May 1822; the orientalist John Cockburn Thomson (1834–1860) was his younger brother. He was educated at University College, London, and at

Jesus College, Cambridge Jesus College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. The college's full name is The College of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Saint John the Evangelist and the glorious Virgin Saint Radegund, near Cambridge. Its common name comes fr ...

, where he graduated with a B.A. in 1846. He 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 ...

at the

Inner Temple The Honourable Society of the Inner Temple, commonly known as the Inner Temple, is one of the four Inns of Court and is a professional associations for barristers and judges. To be called to the Bar and practise as a barrister in England and Wal ...

in May 1849, and practised on the northern circuit. He specialised in military and international law. Thomson lived at this period at 8 Serjeant's Inn, Temple, although professional success seemed distant; but then he was appointed by the Colonial Secretary Lord Stanley as Queen's Advocate in Ceylon. He was appointed on 3 May 1858, succeeding

Henry Collingwood Selby Henry Collingwood Selby was the 11th Queen's Advocate of Ceylon. He was appointed on 23 June 1848, succeeding Arthur William Buller, and held the office until 1858. He was succeeded by Henry Byerley Thomson. References

{{DEFAULTSOR ...

, and held the office until 1863. He was succeeded by Richard Morgan. Thomson was then promoted to puisne judge of the supreme court of Colombo. He died at Colombo, as the result of an apoplectic seizure, on 6 January 1867.

Works

Thomson's major work was a digest of the law as administered in Ceylon, ''Institutes of the Laws of Ceylon'' (London, 1866, 2 vols.). He published also: * ''Laws of War affecting Commerce and Shipping'' (1854, two editions). * ''The Military Forces and Institutions of Great Britain and Ireland: their Constitution, Administration, and Government, Military and Civil'', (1855), based on parliamentary bluebooks. * ''The Choice of a Profession: a concise Account and comparative Review of the English Professions'' (1857).

Family

Thomson married, in 1858, Sarita Beaumont, and left two sons: Henry Byerley, who took orders in 1888; and Arthur Byerley.

References

;Attribution

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Thomson, Henry William 1822 births 1867 deaths English barristers English legal writers English legal professionals Attorneys General of British Ceylon Puisne Justices of the Supreme Court of Ceylon English male non-fiction writers British Ceylon judges 19th-century English lawyers