Michael John Warrender Lobban, FBA (born 22 October 1962) is a South African legal historian. He has been Professor of Legal History at the London School of Economics since 2013, having previously been Professor of Legal History at

Queen Mary University of London Queen Mary University of London (QMUL, or informally QM, and previously Queen Mary and Westfield College) is a public university, public research university in Mile End, East London, England. It is a member institution of the federal University of ...

(2003–13).

Career

Michael Lobban was born in Cape Town on 22 October 1962. He was educated at

Corpus Christi College, Cambridge Corpus Christi College (full name: "The College of Corpus Christi and the Blessed Virgin Mary", often shortened to "Corpus"), is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. From the late 14th century through to the early 19th century ...

, graduating with a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1984, and then studying for a

doctorate A doctorate (from Latin ''docere'', "to teach"), doctor's degree (from Latin ''doctor'', "teacher"), or doctoral degree is an academic degree awarded by universities and some other educational institutions, derived from the ancient formalism ''l ...

there. His PhD was awarded in 1988 for his

thesis A thesis ( : theses), or dissertation (abbreviated diss.), is a document submitted in support of candidature for an academic degree or professional qualification presenting the author's research and findings.International Standard ISO 7144: ...

"The development of common law theory: English jurisprudence c. 1760 – c. 1830". After holding a junior lectureship at the

University of the Witwatersrand The University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg (), is a multi-campus South African public research university situated in the northern areas of central Johannesburg. It is more commonly known as Wits University or Wits ( or ). The university ...

in 1988, he was elected to a junior research fellowship at

St John's College, Oxford St John's College is a constituent college of the University of Oxford. Founded as a men's college in 1555, it has been coeducational since 1979.Communication from Michael Riordan, college archivist Its founder, Sir Thomas White, intended to pro ...

, in 1988. In 1991, he was appointed to a lectureship at

Durham University , mottoeng = Her foundations are upon the holy hills (Psalm 87:1) , established = (university status) , type = Public , academic_staff = 1,830 (2020) , administrative_staff = 2,640 (2018/19) , chancellor = Sir Thomas Allen , vice_chan ...

, and promoted to a

readership Readership may refer to: * The group of readers of a particular publication or writer: their target audience * The total number of readers of a particular publication (newspaper, magazine, book), as proxy-measured by web/app views or print circulat ...

there four years later. In 1997 he joined

Brunel University London Brunel University London is a public research university located in the Uxbridge area of London, England. It was founded in 1966 and named after the Victorian engineer and pioneer of the Industrial Revolution, Isambard Kingdom Brunel. In June 1 ...

as a reader, and in 2000 took up a readership at

, where he was appointed Professor of Legal History in 2003. In 2013, he moved to the London School of Economics to be Professor of Legal History."The development of common law theory: English jurisprudence c. 1760–c. 1830"
''EthOS'' (British Library). Retrieved 2 July 2018. According to his

British Academy The British Academy is the United Kingdom's national academy for the humanities and the social sciences. It was established in 1902 and received its royal charter in the same year. It is now a fellowship of more than 1,000 leading scholars span ...

profile, Lobban specialises in the "history of eighteenth and nineteenth century English law and lawyers, with a special focus on the relationship between doctrine, institutions and legal and political thought"."Professor Michael Lobban"
''British Academy''. Retrieved 2 July 2018. He serves as Secretary of the

Selden Society The Selden Society is a learned society and registered charity concerned with the study of English legal history. It functions primarily as a text publication society, but also undertakes other activities to promote scholarship within its sphere ...

Honours and awards

In 2015, Lobban was elected a

Fellow of the British Academy Fellowship of the British Academy (FBA) is an award granted by the British Academy to leading academics for their distinction in the humanities and social sciences. The categories are: # Fellows – scholars resident in the United Kingdom # ...

, the United Kingdom's

national academy A national academy is an organizational body, usually operating with state financial support and approval, that co-ordinates scholarly research activities and standards for academic disciplines, most frequently in the sciences but also the humanit ...

for the humanities and social sciences.

Selected publications

* ''The Common Law and English Jurisprudence, 1760–1850'' (Clarendon Press, 1991). * ''White Man's Justice: South African Political Trials in the Black Consciousness Era'' (Oxford University Press, 1996). * ''A History of the Philosophy of Law in the Common Law World, 1600–1900'' (Springer, 2007). * (Co-authored with William Cornish, J. Stuart Anderson, Ray Cocks, Patrick Polden, and Keith Smith) ''The Oxford History of the Laws of England'', vols. 11–13 (2010).

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lobban, Michael Living people 1962 births Legal historians Fellows of the British Academy Academics of Durham University