Leone Levi (6 June 1821 – 7 May 1888) was an

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jurist and

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Grave of Leone Levi in Highgate Cemetery

Born to a

Jewish Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...

family in

Ancona Ancona (, also , ) is a city and a seaport in the Marche region in central Italy, with a population of around 101,997 . Ancona is the capital of the province of Ancona and of the region. The city is located northeast of Rome, on the Adriatic S ...

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, he worked in commerce there before emigrating to

Liverpool Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a popul ...

in 1844. There he obtained British citizenship and joined the

Presbyterian church Presbyterianism is a part of the Reformed tradition within Protestantism that broke from the Roman Catholic Church in Scotland by John Knox, who was a priest at St. Giles Cathedral (Church of Scotland). Presbyterian churches derive their nam ...

. At the time, English law regarding the establishment of local

chambers of commerce A chamber of commerce, or board of trade, is a form of business network. For example, a local organization of businesses whose goal is to further the interests of businesses. Business owners in towns and cities form these local societies to a ...

was highly unsystematic and wanting. He therefore advocated their institution in numerous pamphlets, leading to the establishment of the Liverpool Chamber of Commerce in 1849, with Levi as its secretary. In 1850 he published his ''Commercial Law of the World'', an exhaustive comparative treatise upon the laws and codes of mercantile countries. Appointed in 1852 to the chair of commercial law at

King's College London King's College London (informally King's or KCL) is a public research university located in London, England. King's was established by royal charter in 1829 under the patronage of King George IV and the Duke of Wellington. In 1836, King's ...

, he was a popular instructor who innovated evening classes. Levi was called to the bar 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 ...

in 1859, and a doctorate in

political science Political science is the scientific study of politics. It is a social science dealing with systems of governance and power, and the analysis of political activities, political thought, political behavior, and associated constitutions and la ...

from the

University of Tübingen The University of Tübingen, officially the Eberhard Karl University of Tübingen (german: Eberhard Karls Universität Tübingen; la, Universitas Eberhardina Carolina), is a public research university located in the city of Tübingen, Baden-Wü ...

. His chief work, ''History of British Commerce and of the Economic Progress of the British Nation, 1763-1870'', is considered to be a partisan account of British economic development, but its value as a work of reference cannot be gainsaid. His other works include: ''Work and Pay''; ''Wages and Earnings of the Working Classes''; and ''International Law, with Materials for a Code''. See also The Liquor Trades: A Report to M.T. Bass, M.P., on the Capital Invested and Number of Persons Employed Therein (1871). He died at his home in

Highbury Highbury is a district in North London and part of the London Borough of Islington in Greater London that was owned by Ranulf brother of Ilger and included all the areas north and east of Canonbury and Holloway Roads. The manor house was situ ...

on 7 May 1888 and was buried in the eastern side of

Highgate Cemetery Highgate Cemetery is a place of burial in north London, England. There are approximately 170,000 people buried in around 53,000 graves across the West and East Cemeteries. Highgate Cemetery is notable both for some of the people buried there as ...

References

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External links

The Story of My Life: The First Ten Years of My Residence in England, 1845-1855
at the

Internet Archive The Internet Archive is an American digital library with the stated mission of "universal access to all knowledge". It provides free public access to collections of digitized materials, including websites, software applications/games, music, ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Levi, Leone 1821 births 1888 deaths Burials at Highgate Cemetery British economists Converts to Protestantism from Judaism Italian emigrants to the United Kingdom 19th-century Italian Jews Italian Protestants Italian Christians Levites People from Ancona Academics of King's College London