Sir Alexander James Edmund Cockburn, 12th Baronet (24 September 1802 – 20 November 1880) was a British
jurist
A jurist is a person with expert knowledge of law; someone who analyses and comments on law. This person is usually a specialist legal scholar, mostly (but not always) with a formal qualification in law and often a legal practitioner. In the Uni ...
and politician who served as the
Lord Chief Justice
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 are ...
for 21 years. He heard some of the leading '' causes célèbres'' of the nineteenth century.
In 1847 he decided to stand for parliament, and was elected unopposed as
Liberal
Liberal or liberalism may refer to:
Politics
* a supporter of liberalism
** Liberalism by country
* an adherent of a Liberal Party
* Liberalism (international relations)
* Sexually liberal feminism
* Social liberalism
Arts, entertainment and m ...
Member of Parliament for
Southampton
Southampton () is a port city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. It is located approximately south-west of London and west of Portsmouth. The city forms part of the South Hampshire built-up area, which also covers Po ...
. His speech in the
House of Commons
The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of parliament. ...
Greece
Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders with ...
commended him to
Lord John Russell
John Russell, 1st Earl Russell, (18 August 1792 – 28 May 1878), known by his courtesy title Lord John Russell before 1861, was a British Whig and Liberal statesman who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1846 to 1852 and ag ...
Attorney General
In most common law jurisdictions, the attorney general or attorney-general (sometimes abbreviated AG or Atty.-Gen) is the main legal advisor to the government. The plural is attorneys general.
In some jurisdictions, attorneys general also have exec ...
in 1851, a post which he held till the resignation of the ministry in February 1852.
Germany
Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...
and was then part of
Brandenburg
Brandenburg (; nds, Brannenborg; dsb, Bramborska ) is a states of Germany, state in the northeast of Germany bordering the states of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Lower Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt, and Saxony, as well as the country of Poland. With an ar ...
,1851 Census for England – Barrister, aged 47, of Wakehurst Place, Ardingly, Sussex, with the mother (Louisa Hannah Godfrey née Dalley) and sister (Caroline Louisa Matilda Godfrey) of his partner Amelia (Emily) Godfrey – HO107/1642 f.115. p. 181861 Census for England – Lord Chief Justice, aged 58, visiting Chute Lodge, Wiltshire born Altona, with children: Louisa C. Cockburn aged 22 born Stratford, Essex; Alexander Cockburn aged 15 born Sydenham, Surrey – RG9/716 f.19 p. 3 to Alexander Cockburn and his wife Yolande, daughter of René Michel de Vignier de La Saline, vicomte de Vignier, of
. His father served as British Consul to Hamburg and the Hanse towns and later as envoy extraordinary and minister
plenipotentiary
A ''plenipotentiary'' (from the Latin ''plenus'' "full" and ''potens'' "powerful") is a diplomat who has full powers—authorization to sign a treaty or convention on behalf of his or her sovereign. When used as a noun more generally, the word ...
to
Württemberg
Württemberg ( ; ) is a historical German territory roughly corresponding to the cultural and linguistic region of Swabia. The main town of the region is Stuttgart.
Together with Baden and Hohenzollern, two other historical territories, Würt ...
and the Republic of
Colombia
Colombia (, ; ), officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country in South America with insular regions in North America—near Nicaragua's Caribbean coast—as well as in the Pacific Ocean. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Car ...
; he was the fourth son of
Sir James Cockburn, 8th Baronet
Sir James Cockburn, 8th Baronet (1729 – 26 July 1804) was a Member of the Parliament of Great Britain for Linlithgow Burghs from 1772 to 1784 and a Director of the East India Company.
Family
He was a son of William Cockburn of Berwickshire and ...
(born c.1729, died July 1804), his three elder brothers having succeeded to the baronetcy, but died without heirs.
He was initially educated largely abroad and became fluent in French and familiar with
German
German(s) may refer to:
* Germany (of or related to)
**Germania (historical use)
* Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language
** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law
**Ger ...
,
Italian
Italian(s) may refer to:
* Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries
** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom
** Italian language, a Romance language
*** Regional Ita ...
and
Spanish
Spanish might refer to:
* Items from or related to Spain:
**Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain
**Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries
**Spanish cuisine
Other places
* Spanish, Ontario, Cana ...
. He was educated at
Trinity Hall, Cambridge
Trinity Hall (formally The College or Hall of the Holy Trinity in the University of Cambridge) is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge.
It is the fifth-oldest surviving college of the university, having been founded in 1350 by ...
, gaining a first in Civil law in 1824–5 and graduating in 1829 with an
LL.B.
Bachelor of Laws ( la, Legum Baccalaureus; LL.B.) is an undergraduate law degree in the United Kingdom and most common law jurisdictions. Bachelor of Laws is also the name of the law degree awarded by universities in the People's Republic of Chi ...
degree, and also being elected a
fellow
A fellow is a concept whose exact meaning depends on context.
In learned or professional societies, it refers to a privileged member who is specially elected in recognition of their work and achievements.
Within the context of higher education ...
, and afterwards an honorary fellow. He entered the
Middle Temple
The Honourable Society of the Middle Temple, commonly known simply as Middle Temple, is one of the four Inns of Court exclusively entitled to call their members to the English Bar as barristers, the others being the Inner Temple, Gray's Inn an ...
in 1825, and 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 ...
in 1829. He joined the western circuit and built up a substantial practice though he was sufficiently diffident about his success in London to devote little of his energies there, not even keeping his
Chambers
Chambers may refer to:
Places
Canada:
*Chambers Township, Ontario
United States:
*Chambers County, Alabama
* Chambers, Arizona, an unincorporated community in Apache County
* Chambers, Nebraska
* Chambers, West Virginia
* Chambers Township, Hol ...
open.
As advocate (1832–1847)
Three years after his call, the
Reform Bill
In the United Kingdom, Reform Act is most commonly used for legislation passed in the 19th century and early 20th century to enfranchise new groups of voters and to redistribute seats in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. ...
was passed. Cockburn started to practise in
election law
Election law is a branch of public law that relates to the democratic processes, election of representatives and office holders, and referendums, through the regulation of the electoral system, voting rights, ballot access, election management b ...
, including acting for Henry Lytton Bulwer and Edward Ellice. In 1833, with William Rowe, he published a parliamentary brief on the decisions of election committees. In 1834, Ellice recommended Cockburn as member of the commission to enquire into the state of the corporations of England and
Wales
Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the Wales–England border, east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the ...
. Through his parliamentary work Cockburn met
Joseph Parkes
Joseph Parkes (22 January 1796 – 11 August 1865) was an English political reformer.
Born into Unitarian Whig circles, Parkes developed an association with the Philosophical Radicals. In 1822 he established a Birmingham solicitor's practice spec ...
and himself became interested in politics as a profession in itself, not simply as a pretext for legal argument. Cockburn had become ambitious and in 1838 he turned down the offer of a judicial appointment in India with the sentiment "I am going in for something better than that". He became
Recorder
Recorder or The Recorder may refer to:
Newspapers
* ''Indianapolis Recorder'', a weekly newspaper
* ''The Recorder'' (Massachusetts newspaper), a daily newspaper published in Greenfield, Massachusetts, US
* ''The Recorder'' (Port Pirie), a news ...
of
Southampton
Southampton () is a port city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. It is located approximately south-west of London and west of Portsmouth. The city forms part of the South Hampshire built-up area, which also covers Po ...
and from that point started to reduce his election and parliamentary work in favour of more publicly notorious cases. In 1841 he was made a
Q.C.
QC may refer to:
* Queen's Counsel, the title of a King's Counsel, a type of lawyer in Commonwealth countries, during the reign of a queen
* Quality control, the process of meeting products and services to consumer expectations
Places
* Quebec, ...
*Trial of Dr Cockburn: In 1841 a charge of
simony
Simony () is the act of selling church offices and roles or sacred things. It is named after Simon Magus, who is described in the Acts of the Apostles as having offered two disciples of Jesus payment in exchange for their empowering him to imp ...
, brought against his uncle,
William
William is a male given name of Germanic origin.Hanks, Hardcastle and Hodges, ''Oxford Dictionary of First Names'', Oxford University Press, 2nd edition, , p. 276. It became very popular in the English language after the Norman conquest of Engl ...
,
Dean of York
Dean may refer to:
People
* Dean (given name)
* Dean (surname), a surname of Anglo-Saxon English origin
* Dean (South Korean singer), a stage name for singer Kwon Hyuk
* Dean Delannoit, a Belgian singer most known by the mononym Dean
Titles
* ...
, enabled Cockburn to appear conspicuously in a case which attracted considerable public attention, the proceedings taking the form of a motion for
prohibition
Prohibition is the act or practice of forbidding something by law; more particularly the term refers to the banning of the manufacture, storage (whether in barrels or in bottles), transportation, sale, possession, and consumption of alcoholic ...
duly obtained against the
ecclesiastical court
An ecclesiastical court, also called court Christian or court spiritual, is any of certain courts having jurisdiction mainly in spiritual or religious matters. In the Middle Ages, these courts had much wider powers in many areas of Europe than be ...
, which had deprived Dr Cockburn of his office.
*Daniel McNaghten: Sir
Robert Peel
Sir Robert Peel, 2nd Baronet, (5 February 1788 – 2 July 1850) was a British Conservative statesman who served twice as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (1834–1835 and 1841–1846) simultaneously serving as Chancellor of the Exchequer ...
's secretary,
Edward Drummond
Edward Drummond (30 March 1792 – 25 January 1843) was a British civil servant, and was Personal Secretary to several British Prime Ministers. He was fatally shot by Daniel McNaughton, whose subsequent trial gave rise to the McNaughton rules, t ...
, was shot by Daniel McNaghten in 1843. Cockburn, briefed on behalf of the
assassin
Assassination is the murder of a prominent or VIP, important person, such as a head of state, head of government, politician, world leader, member of a royal family or CEO. The murder of a celebrity, activist, or artist, though they may not ha ...
, made a speech which helped to establish the
insanity defence
The insanity defense, also known as the mental disorder defense, is an affirmative defense by excuse in a criminal case, arguing that the defendant is not responsible for their actions due to an episodic psychiatric disease at the time of the ...
in Britain for the next century. At the trial, Cockburn had made extensive and effective use of
Isaac Ray
Isaac Ray (January 16, 1807 – March 31, 1881) was an American psychiatrist, one of the founders of the discipline of forensic psychiatry. In 1838, he published ''A Treatise on the Medical Jurisprudence of Insanity'' (Boston), which served as an ...
's ''Treatise on the Medical Jurisprudence of Insanity''. Cockburn quoted extensively from the book which rejected traditional views of the
insanity defence
The insanity defense, also known as the mental disorder defense, is an affirmative defense by excuse in a criminal case, arguing that the defendant is not responsible for their actions due to an episodic psychiatric disease at the time of the ...
based on the defendant's ability to distinguish "right from wrong" in favour of a broader approach based on causation. Cockburn displayed a mastery of the scientific evidence and was an innovator in exploiting
forensic science
Forensic science, also known as criminalistics, is the application of science to criminal and civil laws, mainly—on the criminal side—during criminal investigation, as governed by the legal standards of admissible evidence and criminal ...
in court.
*The winner of the 1844 Derby: In 1844, he appeared in ''Wood v. Peel'' to determine the winner of a bet (the
Gaming Act 1845
The Gaming Act 1845 (8 & 9 Vict., c. 109) was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. The Act's principal provision was to deem a wager unenforceable as a legal contract. The Act received royal assent on 8 August 1845. Sections 17 and 1 ...
deemed bets unenforceable in law) as to whether the
Derby
Derby ( ) is a city and unitary authority area in Derbyshire, England. It lies on the banks of the River Derwent in the south of Derbyshire, which is in the East Midlands Region. It was traditionally the county town of Derbyshire. Derby gai ...
winner ''Running Rein'' was a four-year-old or a three-year-old. ''Running Rein'' could not be produced when the judge, Baron Alderson, demanded, and as a result Cockburn lost the case, while his strenuous advocacy of his client's cause had led him into making, in his opening speech, strictures on
Lord George Bentinck
Lord William George Frederick Cavendish-Scott-Bentinck (27 February 180221 September 1848), better known as Lord George Bentinck, was an English Conservative politician and racehorse owner noted for his role (with Benjamin Disraeli) in unseatin ...
's conduct in the case which should have been held back.
*Lieutenant Henry Hawkey: In 1846 Hawkey, an officer of the Royal Marines, was tried for murder at Winchester assizes after shooting
James Alexander Seton
James Alexander Seton (1816 – 2 June 1845) was the last British person to be killed in a duel on English soil.
Early life
James Alexander Seton was born in Fordingbridge, Hampshire, in 1816, the son of Colonel James Seton and Margaret Findla ...
in a
duel
A duel is an arranged engagement in combat between two people, with matched weapons, in accordance with agreed-upon Code duello, rules.
During the 17th and 18th centuries (and earlier), duels were mostly single combats fought with swords (the r ...
; Cockburn secured Hawkey's acquittal. James Seton was the last British person to be killed in a duel in the United Kingdom.
*The Achilli trial: During the short administration of
Lord Derby
Edward George Geoffrey Smith-Stanley, 14th Earl of Derby, (29 March 1799 – 23 October 1869, known before 1834 as Edward Stanley, and from 1834 to 1851 as Lord Stanley) was a British statesman, three-time Prime Minister of the United Kingdom ...
, Cockburn was engaged against Sir Frederic Thesiger Attorney General at the time, and for
John Henry Newman
John Henry Newman (21 February 1801 – 11 August 1890) was an English theologian, academic, intellectual, philosopher, polymath, historian, writer, scholar and poet, first as an Anglican ministry, Anglican priest and later as a Catholi ...
, in the case of a friar named
Giacinto Achilli
Giovanni Giacinto Achilli (; ''c.'' 1803 – ''c.'' 1860) was an Italian Roman Catholic Dominican friar and anti-Jesuit who was discharged from the priesthood and imprisoned by the Roman Inquisition for being falsely accusedKer (2004)Ward (1912) ...
who had accused Newman of libel. The jury who heard the case under Lord Campbell found that Newman's plea of justification was not proved except in one particular, a verdict which, together with the methods of the judge and the conduct of the audience, attracted considerable comment.
As law officer of the Crown (1850–1856)
Lord John Russell
John Russell, 1st Earl Russell, (18 August 1792 – 28 May 1878), known by his courtesy title Lord John Russell before 1861, was a British Whig and Liberal statesman who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1846 to 1852 and ag ...
appointed Cockburn as Solicitor-General in 1850, and as Attorney General in 1851, which latter post he held until the resignation of the ministry in February 1852. In December 1852, under Lord Aberdeen's
ministry
Ministry may refer to:
Government
* Ministry (collective executive), the complete body of government ministers under the leadership of a prime minister
* Ministry (government department), a department of a government
Religion
* Christian ...
, Cockburn again became Attorney General, and remained so until 1856, taking part in many celebrated trials. In 1854 Cockburn was made
Recorder
Recorder or The Recorder may refer to:
Newspapers
* ''Indianapolis Recorder'', a weekly newspaper
* ''The Recorder'' (Massachusetts newspaper), a daily newspaper published in Greenfield, Massachusetts, US
* ''The Recorder'' (Port Pirie), a news ...
of Bristol.
Cockburn shepherded through Parliament the ''Common Law Procedure Act 1852'' and the ''Common Law Procedure Act 1854''.
*William Palmer: In his tenure as Attorney General from 1852 to 1856, he led for the crown in the trial of William Palmer of
Rugeley
Rugeley ( ) is a market town and civil parish in the Cannock Chase District in Staffordshire, England. It lies on the north-eastern edge of Cannock Chase next to the River Trent; it is situated north of Lichfield, south-east of Stafford, nort ...
in Staffordshire, an ex-medical man who poisoned a friend named Cook with
strychnine
Strychnine (, , US chiefly ) is a highly toxic, colorless, bitter, crystalline alkaloid used as a pesticide, particularly for killing small vertebrates such as birds and rodents. Strychnine, when inhaled, swallowed, or absorbed through the eye ...
in order to steal from his estate. Cockburn made an exhaustive study of the medical aspects of the case and won a conviction after a twelve-day trial, again demonstrating his skill with forensic science.
*The Hopwood will case (1855).
*The
Swynfen will case
The Swynfen (or Swinfen) will case was a series of English trials over the will of Samuel Swynfen that ran from 1856 to 1864 and raised important questions of ethics in the legal profession.
The case
Samuel Swynfen of Swinfen Hall, Staffordshire ...
(1856)
As judge (1856–1880)
In 1856, he became
Chief Justice of the Common Pleas
The chief justice of the Common Pleas was the head of the Court of Common Pleas, also known as the Common Bench or Common Place, which was the second-highest common law court in the English legal system until 1875, when it, along with the other ...
. He inherited the
baronet
A baronet ( or ; abbreviated Bart or Bt) or the female equivalent, a baronetess (, , or ; abbreviation Btss), is the holder of a baronetcy, a hereditary title awarded by the British Crown. The title of baronet is mentioned as early as the 14th ...
Lord Chancellor
The lord chancellor, formally the lord high chancellor of Great Britain, is the highest-ranking traditional minister among the Great Officers of State in Scotland and England in the United Kingdom, nominally outranking the prime minister. The ...
, and Cockburn became
Lord Chief Justice of the Queen's Bench
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 are ...
.
Cockburn always sought out the most sensational cases and was astute in rearranging his diary so that he could sit in any trial likely to attract the attention of the press.
Several Prime Ministers offered to nominate Cockburn for a peerage, and he finally accepted the offer in 1864. However, Queen Victoria refused, noting that "this peerage has been more than once previously refused upon the ground of the notoriously bad moral character of the Chief Justice".
In 1875, the three English common law courts (the Queen's Bench, the
Court of Common Pleas
A court of common pleas is a common kind of court structure found in various common law jurisdictions. The form originated with the Court of Common Pleas at Westminster, which was created to permit individuals to press civil grievances against one ...
High Court of Justice
The High Court of Justice in London, known properly as His Majesty's High Court of Justice in England, together with the Court of Appeal of England and Wales, Court of Appeal and the Crown Court, are the Courts of England and Wales, Senior Cou ...
. The head of each court (Lord Chief Justice Cockburn, Chief Justice of the Common Pleas Lord Coleridge, and Chief Baron of the Exchequer Sir
Fitzroy Kelly
Sir Fitzroy Edward Kelly (9 October 1796 – 18 September 1880) was an English commercial lawyer, Tory politician and judge. He was the last Lord Chief Baron of the Exchequer
Background and education
Kelly was born in London, the son of Robert ...
) continued in post. After the deaths of Kelly and Cockburn in 1880, the three divisions were merged into a single division, with Lord Coleridge as Lord Chief Justice of England.
*''Martin v. Mackonachie'': Cockburn sitting in the Queen's Bench division granted a writ to quash
Lord Penzance
James Plaisted Wilde, 1st Baron Penzance, (12 July 1816 – 9 December 1899) was a noted United Kingdom, British judge and rose breeder who was also a proponent of the Baconian theory that the works usually attributed to William Shakespeare were ...
's suspension of
Alexander Heriot Mackonochie
Alexander Heriot Mackonochie (11 August 1825 – 15 December 1887) was a Church of England mission priest known as "the martyr of St Alban's" on account of his prosecution and forced resignation for ritualist practices.
Early life
Mackonoch ...
from his clerical office for breach of the
Public Worship Regulation Act 1874
The Public Worship Regulation Act 1874 (37 & 38 Vict c 85) was an Act of Parliament of the United Kingdom, introduced as a Private Member's Bill by Archbishop of Canterbury Archibald Campbell Tait, to limit what he perceived as the growing ritual ...
. Cockburn's decision was overturned by the
Court of Appeal
A court of appeals, also called a court of appeal, appellate court, appeal court, court of second instance or second instance court, is any court of law that is empowered to hear an appeal of a trial court or other lower tribunal. In much of t ...
.
*The
Tichborne Case
The Tichborne case was a legal ''cause célèbre'' that captivated Victorian England in the 1860s and 1870s. It concerned the claims by a man sometimes referred to as Thomas Castro or as Arthur Orton, but usually termed "the Claimant", to be t ...
: Cockburn presided over the civil case in which
Arthur Orton
Arthur Orton (20 March 1834 – 1 April 1898) was an English man who has generally been identified by legal historians and commentators as the "Tichborne Claimant", who in two celebrated court cases both fascinated and shocked Victorian soc ...
attempted to establish his identity as the missing baronet Sir Roger Tichborne. This trial collapsed after 103 days, the longest civil trial on record. Cockburn then presided over the subsequent trial of Orton for
perjury
Perjury (also known as foreswearing) is the intentional act of swearing a false oath or falsifying an affirmation to tell the truth, whether spoken or in writing, concerning matters material to an official proceeding."Perjury The act or an inst ...
, a famous trial that lasted 188 days, setting a record for criminal trials, of which Cockburn CJ's summing-up occupied eighteen.
*''R v. Hicklin'': He developed the
Hicklin test
The Hicklin test is a legal test for obscenity established by the English case ''Regina v Hicklin'' (1868). At issue was the statutory interpretation of the word "obscene" in the Obscene Publications Act 1857, which authorized the destruction of ...
for obscenity.
* The ''Alabama'' claims: He also played a role in the arbitration of the ''Alabama'' claims at
Geneva
Geneva ( ; french: Genève ) frp, Genèva ; german: link=no, Genf ; it, Ginevra ; rm, Genevra is the List of cities in Switzerland, second-most populous city in Switzerland (after Zürich) and the most populous city of Romandy, the French-speaki ...
in 1872, in which he represented the British government. He dissented from the majority view as to British liability for the actions of British-built privateer ships. He prepared the English translation of the arbitrators' award and published a controversial dissenting opinion in which he admitted British liability for the actions of the CSS ''Alabama'', though not on the grounds given in the award, and discounted liability for the CSS ''Florida'' and CSS ''Shenandoah''.
*The Overend-Gurney fraud trial: the trial of the partners of Overend & Gurney, a bank that had collapsed in spectacular circumstances following precarious risks taken by the managers. In his summing up, Cockburn expressed the view that the
defendant
In court proceedings, a defendant is a person or object who is the party either accused of committing a crime in criminal prosecution or against whom some type of civil relief is being sought in a civil case.
Terminology varies from one jurisdic ...
s had been guilty of nothing more than "grave error".
*''Woodley v. Metropolitan District Railway Co.'': Woodley was set to repair a wall in a darkened railway tunnel in which trains continued to run, without warning or dedicated lookout, and with barely sufficient clearance between train and wall for the workman to make himself safe when a train passed. Woodley was seriously injured when he reached across the rail for a tool and was struck by a passing train. Cockburn CJ held that the employer was not liable, invoking the principle of '' volenti non-fit injuria''.
*
Lavinia Ryves
Lavinia Jannetta Horton Ryves (née Serres; 16 March 1797 – 7 December 1871), was a British woman claiming to be a member of the British royal family, calling herself "Princess Lavinia of Cumberland".
Born in Liverpool, England, Lavinia was the ...
Clerkenwell explosion
The Clerkenwell explosion, also known as the Clerkenwell Outrage, was a bombing in London on 13 December 1867. The Irish Republican Brotherhood, nicknamed the "Fenians", exploded a bomb to try to free one of their members being held on remand a ...
.
*The trial of
Boulton and Park
Thomas Ernest Boulton and Frederick William Park were two Victorian cross-dressers. In 1870, while in drag, they were arrested after leaving a London theatre. They were charged with conspiracy to commit sodomy, a crime that carried a maximum pri ...
for transvestism and "conspiring and inciting persons to commit an unnatural offence".
*The trial of
Henry Wainwright
Henry Wainwright (12 July 1832 – 21 December 1875) was an English murderer.
Wainwright was a brushmaker who murdered his mistress Harriet Louisa Lane in September 1874 and buried her body in a warehouse he owned. When he was declared bankrupt ...
for murder. The crime, in which Wainwright was arrested in possession of the dismembered body of his victim, was given more publicity at the time than those of
Jack the Ripper
Jack the Ripper was an unidentified serial killer active in and around the impoverished Whitechapel district of London, England, in the autumn of 1888. In both criminal case files and the contemporaneous journalistic accounts, the killer wa ...
.
*The
Eastbourne manslaughter
''R v Hopley'' (more commonly known as the Eastbourne manslaughter) was an 1860 legal case in Eastbourne, Sussex, England. The case concerned the death of 15-year-old Reginald Cancellor (some sources give his name as Chancellor and his age as 13 ...
Personality
In personal appearance Cockburn was of small stature with a large head, but possessed a very dignified manner. He enjoyed
yachting
Yachting is the use of recreational boats and ships called ''yachts'' for racing or cruising. Yachts are distinguished from working ships mainly by their leisure purpose. "Yacht" derives from the Dutch word '' jacht'' ("hunt"). With sailboats, t ...
and other sport, and writing (he wrote an unpublished novel). Something of an adventurer in his youth, he was fond of socialising and womanising, fathering two illegitimate children. He "was also throughout his life addicted to frivolities not altogether consistent with advancement in a learned profession, or with the positions of dignity which he successively occupied." He lived for many years in some state at
Wakehurst Place
Wakehurst, previously known as Wakehurst Place, is a house and botanic gardens in West Sussex, England, owned by the National Trust but used and managed by the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. It is near Ardingly, West Sussex in the High Weald (g ...
in Sussex. In his later years, he reminisced, "Whatever happens, I have had my whack". He once had to escape through the window of the
robing room
Court dress comprises the style of clothes and other attire prescribed for members of courts of law. Depending on the country and jurisdiction's traditions, members of the court (judges, magistrates, and so on) may wear formal robes, gowns, co ...
at
Rougemont Castle
Rougemont Castle, also known as Exeter Castle, is the historic castle of the city of Exeter, Devon, England. It was built into the northern corner of the Roman city walls starting in or shortly after the year 1068, following Exeter's rebellion ...
,
Exeter
Exeter () is a city in Devon, South West England. It is situated on the River Exe, approximately northeast of Plymouth and southwest of Bristol.
In Roman Britain, Exeter was established as the base of Legio II Augusta under the personal comm ...
, to evade
bailiff
A bailiff (from Middle English baillif, Old French ''baillis'', ''bail'' "custody") is a manager, overseer or custodian – a legal officer to whom some degree of authority or jurisdiction is given. Bailiffs are of various kinds and their offi ...
s. Shortly before he became Chief Justice of the Common Pleas, Cockburn was walking in London's
Haymarket Haymarket may refer to:
Places
Australia
* Haymarket, New South Wales, area of Sydney, Australia
Germany
* Heumarkt (KVB), transport interchange in Cologne on the site of the Heumarkt (literally: hay market)
Russia
* Sennaya Square (''Hay Squ ...
with fellow barrister
William Ballantine
Serjeant William Ballantine SL (3 January 1812 – 9 January 1887) was an English Serjeant-at-law, a legal position defunct since the legal reforms of the 1870s.
Early career
Born in Howland Street, Tottenham Court Road in Camden, London, the ...
when he saw a
police constable
A constable is a person holding a particular office, most commonly in criminal law enforcement. The office of constable can vary significantly in different jurisdictions. A constable is commonly the rank of an officer within the police. Other peop ...
roughly handling a woman. The pair stopped to protest but found themselves accused of obstructing a constable in the execution of his duty, arrested by the constable and conveyed to Vine Street Police Station. At the station they met an acquaintance who explained to the inspector who they were and they were released.
He was a passionate champion of the proper role of the advocate and on the occasion of a reception for
Antoine Pierre Berryer
Pierre-Antoine Berryer (4 January 179029 November 1868) was a French advocate and parliamentary orator. He was the twelfth member elected to occupy Seat Four of the Académie française in 1852.
Biography
Early years
Berryer was born in Paris, t ...
in
Middle Temple Hall
The Honourable Society of the Middle Temple, commonly known simply as Middle Temple, is one of the four Inns of Court exclusively entitled to Call to the bar, call their members to the English Bar as barristers, the others being the Inner Temp ...
, said:
As a judge he did not have the highest reputation, with a joke within the legal profession being that he became a first rate judge only because he sat with Lord Blackburn.
Charles Francis Adams, Sr.
Charles Francis Adams Sr. (August 18, 1807 – November 21, 1886) was an American historical editor, writer, politician, and diplomat. As United States Minister to the United Kingdom during the American Civil War, Adams was crucial to Union effor ...
, a fellow judge on the Geneva tribunal to resolve the
Alabama claims
The ''Alabama'' Claims were a series of demands for damages sought by the government of the United States from the United Kingdom in 1869, for the attacks upon Union merchant ships by Confederate Navy commerce raiders built in British shipyards ...
issue, felt that Sir Alexander's temper was so short that he seemed mentally unbalanced.
Family and decease
Although Cockburn never married, he had one acknowledged illegitimate son and one illegitimate daughter by the unmarried Amelia (Emily) Godfrey (17 September 1818, baptised 11 October 1818 All Saints' Church, Epping), the daughter of William Daniel Leake Godfrey (1788–1868) and his wife Louisa Hannah (née Dalley, 1791–1852): born 3 August 1838; bapt 16 Jun 1839; father = Alexander Edmund Cockburn; mother = Emily Cockburn
#Louisa Charlotte Cockburn (3 August 1838 Stratford,
Essex
Essex () is a county in the East of England. One of the home counties, it borders Suffolk and Cambridgeshire to the north, the North Sea to the east, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent across the estuary of the River Thames to the south, and G ...
baptised 16 June 1839 All Saints' Church, West Ham, Essex –
Isle of Wight
The Isle of Wight ( ) is a county in the English Channel, off the coast of Hampshire, from which it is separated by the Solent. It is the largest and second-most populous island of England. Referred to as 'The Island' by residents, the Isle of ...
25 April 1869), who married at
Chelsea
Chelsea or Chelsey may refer to:
Places Australia
* Chelsea, Victoria
Canada
* Chelsea, Nova Scotia
* Chelsea, Quebec
United Kingdom
* Chelsea, London, an area of London, bounded to the south by the River Thames
** Chelsea (UK Parliament consti ...
, London, on 25 June 1863 to the Rev. Charles William Cavendish (
Chiswick
Chiswick ( ) is a district of west London, England. It contains Hogarth's House, the former residence of the 18th-century English artist William Hogarth; Chiswick House, a neo-Palladian villa regarded as one of the finest in England; and Full ...
24 September 1822 – Ryde, Isle of Wight 21 December 1890), rector of
Little Casterton
Little Casterton is a small village and civil parish in Rutland, England. The population of the civil parish at the 2001 census was 148, increasing to 218 at the 2011 census. It is about two miles (3 km) north of Stamford on a minor road t ...
,
Rutland
Rutland () is a ceremonial county and unitary authority in the East Midlands, England. The county is bounded to the west and north by Leicestershire, to the northeast by Lincolnshire and the southeast by Northamptonshire.
Its greatest len ...
, later a Catholic convert who became secretary of the
Society for the Propagation of the Faith
The Society for the Propagation of the Faith (Latin: ''Propagandum Fidei'') is an international association coordinating assistance for Catholic missionary priests, brothers, and nuns in mission areas. The society was founded in Lyon, France, in ...
, and a grandson of
George Cavendish, 1st Earl of Burlington
George Cavendish, 1st Earl of Burlington (31 March 1754 – 9 May 1834), styled Lord George Cavendish before 1831, was a British nobleman and politician. He built Burlington Arcade.
Background
Cavendish was the third son of William Cavendish, ...
, with issue: Louis Francis John Charles Raphael Cavendish (24 October 1864 – 31 December 1890), who never marriedFreeBMD /ref>
#Alexander Dalton (Alex) Cockburn (
Sydenham Sydenham may refer to:
Places Australia
* Sydenham, New South Wales, a suburb of Sydney
** Sydenham railway station, Sydney
* Sydenham, Victoria, a suburb of Melbourne
** Sydenham railway line, the name of the Sunbury railway line, Melbourne ...
1846 –
Westminster
Westminster is an area of Central London, part of the wider City of Westminster.
The area, which extends from the River Thames to Oxford Street, has many visitor attractions and historic landmarks, including the Palace of Westminster, Bu ...
16 July 1887 ), Capt. 2nd Regt Life Guards, who never marriedNational Probate Calendar (Index of Wills and Administrations): Alexander Dalton Cockburn, Esq. ... formerly Captain in the 2nd Regiment of Life Guards who died 16 July 1887 at 59 Jermyn Street, London ...Probate 2 September 1887 and to whom Cockburn left the majority of his fortune. His son did not succeed him as Baronet of Langton, which became dormant.
Cockburn died on 20 November 1880, of
angina pectoris
Angina, also known as angina pectoris, is chest pain or pressure, usually caused by insufficient blood flow to the heart muscle (myocardium). It is most commonly a symptom of coronary artery disease.
Angina is typically the result of obstru ...
at his house at 40
Hertford Street
Hertford Street is a street in central London's Mayfair district.
It runs between a junction with Park Lane and Old Park Lane at its western end, to Curzon Street at its north-east end.
In 1771, Anne, Duchess of Cumberland and Strathearn marrie ...
, Mayfair, London; he had continued working up until his death despite three heart attacks and warnings from his doctor. As he never married, he produced no legitimate heirs, despite having a surviving male child. As a result, the baronetcy became dormant upon his death. His remains were deposited in Catacomb A of
Kensal Green Cemetery
Kensal Green Cemetery is a cemetery in the Kensal Green area of Queens Park in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea in London, England. Inspired by Père Lachaise Cemetery in Paris, it was founded by the barrister George Frederic ...
Oxford Dictionary of National Biography
The ''Dictionary of National Biography'' (''DNB'') is a standard work of reference on notable figures from British history, published since 1885. The updated ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'' (''ODNB'') was published on 23 September ...
'', Oxford University Press, accessed 24 July 2007
*
*
Alexander
Alexander is a male given name. The most prominent bearer of the name is Alexander the Great, the king of the Ancient Greek kingdom of Macedonia who created one of the largest empires in ancient history.
Variants listed here are Aleksandar, Al ...