Robert Francis Vere Heuston, QC (Hon.), FBA (17 November 1923 – 21 December 1995), sometimes given as R. F. V. Heuston, was an Irish legal scholar and legal historian. He is best known for his ''Lives of the Lord Chancellors''. Heuston was born in Dublin, the eldest son of Vere Douglas Heuston, general manager of the

Guinness Brewery St. James's Gate Brewery is a brewery founded in 1759 in Dublin, Ireland, by Arthur Guinness. The company is now a part of Diageo, a company formed from the merger of Guinness and Grand Metropolitan in 1997. The main product of the brewery is ...

, and of Dorothy Helen Heuston, ''née'' Coulter. He was related to the Irish nationalist

Robert Emmet Robert Emmet (4 March 177820 September 1803) was an Irish Republican, orator and rebel leader. Following the suppression of the United Irish uprising in 1798, he sought to organise a renewed attempt to overthrow the British Crown and Prote ...

. He was educated at

St Columba's College, Dublin St Columba's College is a co-educational independent day and boarding school founded in 1843 located in Whitechurch, County Dublin, Ireland. Among the founders of the college were Viscount Adare (who later became The 3rd Earl of Dunraven and M ...

and

Trinity College Dublin , name_Latin = Collegium Sanctae et Individuae Trinitatis Reginae Elizabethae juxta Dublin , motto = ''Perpetuis futuris temporibus duraturam'' (Latin) , motto_lang = la , motto_English = It will last i ...

, where he read Law and obtained first-class honours. He was also auditor of the

College Historical Society The College Historical Society (CHS) – popularly referred to as The Hist – is a debating society at Trinity College Dublin. It was established within the college in 1770 and was inspired by the club formed by the philosopher Edmund ...

. Heuston was called to the

Irish Bar The Bar of Ireland ( ga, Barra na hÉireann) is the professional association of barristers for Ireland, with over 2,000 members. It is based in the Law Library, with premises in Dublin and Cork. It is governed by the General Council of the Ba ...

by King's Inns in 1947, but decided to pursue an academic career. He joined St John's College, Cambridge as a research student, but soon left Cambridge, upon his election as the first law fellow of Pembroke College, Oxford in 1947, where he remained until 1965, when he joined the

University of Southampton , mottoeng = The Heights Yield to Endeavour , type = Public research university , established = 1862 – Hartley Institution1902 – Hartley University College1913 – Southampton University Coll ...

as a Professor of Law. He was

Gresham Professor of Law The Professor of Law at Gresham College, London, gives free educational lectures to the general public. The college was founded for this purpose in 1597, when it appointed seven professors. This has since increased to ten and in addition the colle ...

between 1964 and 1970 and Regius Professor of Laws at

between 1970 and 1983.

Works

Heuston published works on constitutional law (''Essays in Constitutional Law'', 1961) and torts (''Salmond and Heuston on the Law of Torts''). However, he is best known for his ''Lives of the Lord Chancellors, 1885-40'' and ''Lives of the Lord Chancellors: 1940-1970'', containing biographies of Lord Chancellors from

Lord Halsbury Lord is an appellation for a person or deity who has authority, control, or power over others, acting as a master, chief, or ruler. The appellation can also denote certain persons who hold a title of the peerage in the United Kingdom, or a ...

to Lord Gardiner.

Honours

Heuston was elected an honorary fellow of Pembroke College, Cambridge in 1982, honorary

bencher A bencher or Master of the Bench is a senior member of an Inn of Court in England and Wales or the Inns of Court in Northern Ireland, or the Honorable Society of King's Inns in Ireland. Benchers hold office for life once elected. A bencher ca ...

of King's Inns in 1983, honorary bencher of

Gray's Inn The Honourable Society of Gray's Inn, commonly known as Gray's Inn, is one of the four Inns of Court (professional associations for barristers and judges) in London. To be called to the bar in order to practise as a barrister in England and W ...

in 1988, and a Corresponding Fellow of the British Academy in 1993. He was appointed an honorary

Queen's Counsel In the United Kingdom and in some Commonwealth countries, a King's Counsel (post-nominal initials KC) during the reign of a king, or Queen's Counsel (post-nominal initials QC) during the reign of a queen, is a lawyer (usually a barrister o ...

in 1995.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Heuston, Robert 1923 births 1995 deaths Honorary King's Counsel 20th-century King's Counsel Corresponding Fellows of the British Academy Alumni of Trinity College Dublin Alumni of St John's College, Cambridge Members of the King's Inns Irish barristers Members of Gray's Inn Fellows of Pembroke College, Oxford Academics of the University of Southampton Fellows of Jesus College, Cambridge Professors of Gresham College Academic staff of the University of Melbourne Academic staff of the University of British Columbia Legal historians Alumni of King's Inns Irish emigrants to the United Kingdom