John Boyd Kinnear (1828 – 10 November 1920) was a Scottish lawyer, writer 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 ...

, later

Liberal Unionist The Liberal Unionist Party was a British political party that was formed in 1886 by a faction that broke away from the Liberal Party. Led by Lord Hartington (later the Duke of Devonshire) and Joseph Chamberlain, the party established a political ...

, politician.

Biography

Kinnear was the son of Christian Boyd Greenshields and her husband, Charles Kinnear of Kinloch. He was educated at the

University of Edinburgh The University of Edinburgh ( sco, University o Edinburgh, gd, Oilthigh Dhùn Èideann; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in post-nominals) is a public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Granted a royal charter by King James VI in 15 ...

and the

University of St Andrews (Aien aristeuein) , motto_lang = grc , mottoeng = Ever to ExcelorEver to be the Best , established = , type = Public research university Ancient university , endowment ...

. He became a Scottish Advocate in 1850 and from 1852 to 1856 was political secretary to the

Lord Advocate , body = , insignia = Crest of the Kingdom of Scotland.svg , insigniasize = 110px , image = File:Official Portrait of Dorothy Bain QC.png , incumbent = Dorothy Bain KC , incumbentsince = 22 June 2021 , appointer = Monarch on the advice ...

of Scotland James Moncreiff. In 1855 he was called to the bar 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 ...

and was a JP for

Fife Fife (, ; gd, Fìobha, ; sco, Fife) is a council area, historic county, registration county and lieutenancy area of Scotland. It is situated between the Firth of Tay and the Firth of Forth, with inland boundaries with Perth and Kinross (i ...

. He was an extensive writer on jurisprudence and other topics including religion and women's rights. In the 1885 general election, 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 ...

(MP) for East Fife. However, in 1886 he stood as a

and was defeated by future prime minister

H. H. Asquith Herbert Henry Asquith, 1st Earl of Oxford and Asquith, (12 September 1852 – 15 February 1928), generally known as H. H. Asquith, was a British statesman and Liberal Party politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom f ...

. He died at the age of 92.

Family

Kinnear married Sarah Harriet Frith in 1852. She died in 1866 and he married Teresa Bassano of Venice in 1868. His brother was the eminent architect

Charles Kinnear Charles George Hood Kinnear FRIBA ARSA FRSE (30 May 1830 – 5 November 1894) was one half of Peddie & Kinnear partnership, one of Scotland’s most renowned and prodigious architectural firms, famed for their development of the Scots Baroni ...

of Peddie & Kinnear.Dictionary of Scottish Architects: Kinnear

Publications

*''A comparison of the bankruptcy systems of England and Scotland'' W. Maxwell, 1858 *''Suggestions relative to the improvement of Court of Session procedure'' Bell and Bradfute, 1863 *''Digest of House of Lords cases decided on appeal from Scotland, 1709 to 1864'' Bell & Bradfute, 1865 *''The right of women to labour'' F. Bell, 1873 *''Principles of property in land'' Smith, Elder, 1880 * ''Principles of Civil Government'' Smith, Elder & Co., 1887 *''The education of women''

Women's Emancipation Union The Women's Emancipation Union was founded by Elizabeth Clarke Wolstenholme Elmy in September 1891 following an infamous court case. Regina v Jackson, known colloquially as the Clitheroe Judgement, occurred when Edmund Jackson abducted his wife in a ...

, 1892 *''The foundations of religion'' Smith, Elder & Co., 1905 *"Principles of Property" Smith, Elder & Co., 1914

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Kinnear, John Boyd 1828 births 1920 deaths Alumni of the University of St Andrews UK MPs 1885–1886 Scottish Liberal Party MPs Liberal Unionist Party MPs for Scottish constituencies Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for Fife constituencies Members of the Faculty of Advocates Scottish justices of the peace