Sir Roland Knyvet Wilson, 2nd Baronet (27 August 1840 - 29 October 1919) was an

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

academic and political writer. The son of Rear-Admiral George Knyvet Wilson, R.N., Roland's uncle was Sir

Archdale Wilson Lieutenant-General Sir Archdale Wilson, 1st Baronet, GCB (1803 – 9 May 1874) was a British Bengal Army and British Army artillery officer who saw service during the Second Sikh War and the Indian Rebellion of 1857, during which he was commend ...

, commander of British forces at the

Siege of Delhi The siege of Delhi was one of the decisive conflicts of the Indian Rebellion of 1857. The rebellion against the authority of the East India Company was widespread through much of Northern India, but essentially it was sparked by the mass up ...

, whom he succeeded as 2nd Baronet in 1874. Wilson was educated at

Eton Eton most commonly refers to Eton College, a public school in Eton, Berkshire, England. Eton may also refer to: Places *Eton, Berkshire, a town in Berkshire, England * Eton, Georgia, a town in the United States * Éton, a commune in the Meuse dep ...

and

King's College, Cambridge King's College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Formally The King's College of Our Lady and Saint Nicholas in Cambridge, the college lies beside the River Cam and faces out onto King's Parade in the centre of the cit ...

. In 1867 he was a barrister and then ventured into journalism, working for the '' Weekly Reporter'' and '' Law Journal'' from 1867 to 1871. He was a reader in Indian Law at the

University of Cambridge The University of Cambridge is a public collegiate research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209 and granted a royal charter by Henry III in 1231, Cambridge is the world's third oldest surviving university and one of its most pr ...

from 1878 to 1892. Wilson's history of English law impressed A. V. Dicey due to its documenting the distinction between Blackstonian and Benthamite phases of law reform. Wilson was a

classical liberal Classical liberalism is a political tradition and a branch of liberalism that advocates free market and laissez-faire economics; civil liberties under the rule of law with especial emphasis on individual autonomy, limited government, econom ...

involved in the Personal Rights Association, an organisation which grew out of opposition to the

Contagious Diseases Acts The Contagious Diseases Acts (CD Acts) were originally passed by the Parliament of the United Kingdom in 1864 (27 & 28 Vict. c. 85), with alterations and additions made in 1866 (29 & 30 Vict. c. 35) and 1869 (32 & 33 Vict. c. 96). In 1862, a com ...

, and his ''The Province of the State'' examined legitimate areas of concern for the state.

Publications

*''A Short History of Modern English Law'' (Rivington's Historical Handbooks) (1874). *''History of Modern English Law'' (Rivingtons) (1875). *An annotated edition of Sir G. C. Lewis' ''Use and Abuse of Political Terms'' (1877). *''An Introduction to the Study of Anglo-Muhammadan Law'' (1894). *''A Digest of Anglo-Muhammadan Law'' (1895, 4th edition 1912). *''The Province of the State'' (1911). *''Individualism and the Land Question: a Discussion'' (1912). *''The First and Last Fight for the Voluntary Principle in Education (1846-1858)'' (1915).

References

*''Who Was Who 1897-2006''. Retrieved March 27, 2007, from http://www.xreferplus.com/entry/6209215. {{DEFAULTSORT:Wilson, Roland 1840 births 1919 deaths English barristers People educated at Eton College Alumni of King's College, Cambridge Fellows of King's College, Cambridge British classical liberals Baronets in the Baronetage of the United Kingdom 19th-century English lawyers