Samuel Edmund Thorne (October 14, 1907 – April 7, 1994) was an American legal historian. The editor of many English legal manuscripts, he is best known for his translation, with annotations, of '' Bracton'''s ''De legibus et consuetudinibus Angliae'' (1968-1977), generally considered to be the definitive one.

Life and career

Thorne was educated at the

City College of New York The City College of the City University of New York (also known as the City College of New York, or simply City College or CCNY) is a public university within the City University of New York (CUNY) system in New York City. Founded in 1847, Cit ...

and

Harvard Law School Harvard Law School (Harvard Law or HLS) is the law school of Harvard University, a private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1817, it is the oldest continuously operating law school in the United States. Each class ...

. He was librarian and professor at

Northwestern University School of Law Northwestern University Pritzker School of Law is the law school of Northwestern University, a private research university. It is located on the university's Chicago campus. Northwestern Law has been ranked among the top 14, or "T14" law scho ...

from 1934 to 1942, when he took a leave of absence to serve in the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

as a

cryptoanalyst Cryptanalysis (from the Greek ''kryptós'', "hidden", and ''analýein'', "to analyze") refers to the process of analyzing information systems in order to understand hidden aspects of the systems. Cryptanalysis is used to breach cryptographic sec ...

, achieving the rank of

lieutenant commander Lieutenant commander (also hyphenated lieutenant-commander and abbreviated Lt Cdr, LtCdr. or LCDR) is a commissioned officer rank in many navies. The rank is superior to a lieutenant and subordinate to a commander. The corresponding rank i ...

. After

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, Thorne joined

Yale Law School Yale Law School (Yale Law or YLS) is the law school of Yale University, a Private university, private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. It was established in 1824 and has been ranked as the best law school in the United States by ''U ...

as librarian in 1945. He was elected to the

American Academy of Arts and Sciences The American Academy of Arts and Sciences (abbreviation: AAA&S) is one of the oldest learned societies in the United States. It was founded in 1780 during the American Revolution by John Adams, John Hancock, James Bowdoin, Andrew Oliver, and ...

in 1956. That same year, Thorne joined

Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher le ...

as Professor of Law and History, and retired in 1978. He was an elected member of the

American Philosophical Society The American Philosophical Society (APS), founded in 1743 in Philadelphia, is a scholarly organization that promotes knowledge in the sciences and humanities through research, professional meetings, publications, library resources, and communit ...

. A

festschrift In academia, a ''Festschrift'' (; plural, ''Festschriften'' ) is a book honoring a respected person, especially an academic, and presented during their lifetime. It generally takes the form of an edited volume, containing contributions from the h ...

in his honor, ''On the Laws and Customs of England : Essays in Honor of Samuel E. Thorne'', was published in 1981.

Works

* ''Bracton, On the Laws and Customs of England'', 4 vol. (editor) (1968-1977) * ''Essays in English Legal History'' (1984)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Thorne, Samuel E. Northwestern University Pritzker School of Law faculty 1994 deaths Legal historians American historians American legal scholars American librarians American medievalists City College of New York alumni Harvard Law School alumni Yale Law School faculty Harvard Law School faculty United States Navy officers American cryptographers 1907 births Fellows of the Medieval Academy of America Members of the American Philosophical Society Corresponding Fellows of the British Academy