Sir Robert Blair Roden (21 April 1860 – 5 February 1939) was a British colonial judge. He was

Chief Justice of St Vincent The Chief Justice of St Vincent was the head of the Supreme Court of Saint Vincent in Saint Vincent, an island member of the Windward Islands in the West Indies. The court was replaced by the Windward and Leeward Islands Supreme Court and the W ...

from 1912 to 1915 and

Chief Justice of British Honduras The Chief Justice of Belize is the head of the Supreme Court of Belize. Under Chapter 7 of the Constitution of Belize, the Chief Justice is appointed by the Governor-General on the advice of the Prime Minister. Since the retirement of Kenneth B ...

from 1915 to 1921.

Biography

Roden was born in

Antigua Antigua ( ), also known as Waladli or Wadadli by the native population, is an island in the Lesser Antilles. It is one of the Leeward Islands in the Caribbean region and the main island of the country of Antigua and Barbuda. Antigua and Bar ...

, the son of J. James Roden, a sugar planter. He was educated at the Ewart Institute in Newton Stewart, Scotland. Roden joined the

Colonial Service The Colonial Service, also known as His/Her Majesty's Colonial Service and replaced in 1954 by Her Majesty's Overseas Civil Service (HMOCS), was the British government service that administered most of Britain's overseas possessions, under the aut ...

in 1880. He was Magistrate of

Nevis Nevis is a small island in the Caribbean Sea that forms part of the inner arc of the Leeward Islands chain of the West Indies. Nevis and the neighbouring island of Saint Kitts constitute one country: the Federation of Saint Kitts and Ne ...

from 1890, Private Secretary to successive

governors of the Leeward Islands A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political r ...

in 1883, 1890, 1895, and 1896, He was a member of the St Kitt’s and Nevis Legislative Council from 1891, of the Federal Legislative Council of the Leeward Islands from 1898. In 1903, he was

called to the Bar The call to the bar is a legal term of art in most common law jurisdictions where persons must be qualified to be allowed to argue in court on behalf of another party and are then said to have been "called to the bar" or to have received "call to ...

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 Wale ...

and was appointed

Police Magistrate The term magistrate is used in a variety of systems of governments and laws to refer to a civilian officer who administers the law. In ancient Rome, a '' magistratus'' was one of the highest ranking government officers, and possessed both judici ...

Bridgetown Bridgetown (UN/LOCODE: BB BGI) is the capital and largest city of Barbados Barbados is an island country in the Lesser Antilles of the West Indies, in the Caribbean region of the Americas, and the most easterly of the Caribbean Island ...

Barbados Barbados is an island country in the Lesser Antilles of the West Indies, in the Caribbean region of the Americas, and the most easterly of the Caribbean Islands. It occupies an area of and has a population of about 287,000 (2019 estimate). ...

the same year. He acted on several occasions as Judge of the Bridgetown Petty Debt Court and of the Barbados Assistant Court of Appeal. He was appointed

, 1912, administered the Government of St Vincent from October 1912 to February 1913, and for periods in 1913 and 1914. He was appointed

in 1915, retiring in 1921. He was

knighted A knight is a person granted an honorary title of knighthood by a head of state (including the Pope) or representative for service to the monarch, the Christian denomination, church or the country, especially in a military capacity. Knighthood ...

in 1918. He died in London in 1939. In 1890, Roden married Rachel Thomson Harrison, elder daughter of W. P. Harrison of Edinburgh; they had one daughter. Lady Roden died in 1936.

References

* https://www.ukwhoswho.com/view/10.1093/ww/9780199540891.001.0001/ww-9780199540884-e-216334 * https://www.saxonlodge.net/getperson.php?personID=I3870&tree=Tatham {{DEFAULTSORT:Roden, Robert Blair 1860 births 1939 deaths Chief justices of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines British Windward Islands judges People from Nottingham English King's Counsel 20th-century English lawyers Antigua and Barbuda judges People from the British West Indies