John Fullerton, Lord Fullerton, (16 December 1775 – 3 December 1853) was a Scottish law lord.

Early life

He was born in

Edinburgh Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian ...

on 16 December 1775 one of twelve children and second son to William Fullerton Esq of

Carstairs Carstairs (, Scottish Gaelic: ''Caisteal Tarrais'') is a village in South Lanarkshire, Scotland. Carstairs is located east of the county town of Lanark and the West Coast Main Line runs through the village. The village is served by Carstairs ra ...

and his wife Isabella. He was raised in a large house on Nicolson Street in Edinburgh's Southside. His elder sister Elizabeth married William Fullerton Elphinstone a Director of the

East India Company The East India Company (EIC) was an English, and later British, joint-stock company founded in 1600 and dissolved in 1874. It was formed to trade in the Indian Ocean region, initially with the East Indies (the Indian subcontinent and Southea ...

. He attended the High School in Edinburgh and then studied law at

Edinburgh University 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 1582 ...

, qualifying as an advocate on 17 February 1798. In 1816 he was elected a Fellow of the

Royal Society of Edinburgh The Royal Society of Edinburgh is Scotland's national academy of science and letters. It is a registered charity that operates on a wholly independent and non-partisan basis and provides public benefit throughout Scotland. It was established i ...

. His proposers were

John Playfair John Playfair FRSE, FRS (10 March 1748 – 20 July 1819) was a Church of Scotland minister, remembered as a scientist and mathematician, and a professor of natural philosophy at the University of Edinburgh. He is best known for his book ''Illu ...

Thomas Thomson Thomas Thomson may refer to: * Tom Thomson (1877–1917), Canadian painter * Thomas Thomson (apothecary) (died 1572), Scottish apothecary * Thomas Thomson (advocate) (1768–1852), Scottish lawyer * Thomas Thomson (botanist) (1817–1878), Scottis ...

, Sir

David Brewster Sir David Brewster KH PRSE FRS FSA Scot FSSA MICE (11 December 178110 February 1868) was a British scientist, inventor, author, and academic administrator. In science he is principally remembered for his experimental work in physical optics ...

and John Gordon. He became a Senator of the College of Justice (law lord) on 17 February 1829, and adopted the title Lord Fullerton, succeeding

John Clerk, Lord Eldin John Clerk, Lord Eldin FRSE FSA (1757– 30 May1832) was a Scottish judge based in Edinburgh. Life He was the eldest son of Susannah Adam, the sister of John Adam and Robert Adam, and John Clerk of Eldin. He was born in April 1757 in Edinburgh ...

. He then lived at 27 Melville Street in a newly built townhouse in Edinburgh's fashionable west end. In the

Disruption of 1843 The Disruption of 1843, also known as the Great Disruption, was a schism in 1843 in which 450 evangelical ministers broke away from the Church of Scotland to form the Free Church of Scotland. The main conflict was over whether the Church of S ...

Fullerton spoke largely in the defence of the established

Church of Scotland The Church of Scotland ( sco, The Kirk o Scotland; gd, Eaglais na h-Alba) is the national church in Scotland. The Church of Scotland was principally shaped by John Knox, in the Scottish Reformation, Reformation of 1560, when it split from t ...

within the lengthy legal debates. His arguments failed, therefore permitting the split. He died at home 33 Moray Place on the

Moray Estate The Moray Estate in Edinburgh was an exclusive early 19th century building venture attaching the west side of Edinburgh's New Town. Built on an awkward and steeply sloping site, it has been described as a masterpiece of urban planning. Backg ...

on 3 December 1853 in

. His biography was written by Lord Strathclyde.

Family

In 1817 he married Georgina Hay Macdowall. They had eight children. Their children were Isabella Graeme Fullerton, William Fullerton, James Fullerton, Mary Fullerton, Elizabeth Elphinstone Fullerton, George Ferguson Fullerton, Georgina Fullerton and Henry Monteith Fullerton.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Fullerton, John 1775 births 1853 deaths Fellows of the Royal Society of Edinburgh Lawyers from Edinburgh 19th-century Scottish judges