Sir Frederick Pollock, 3rd Baronet
PC,
FBA (10 December 1845 – 18 January 1937)
was an English jurist best known for his ''History of English Law before the Time of Edward I'', written with
F.W. Maitland, and his lifelong correspondence with US Supreme Court Justice
Oliver Wendell Holmes. He was a
Cambridge Apostle.
Life
Pollock was the eldest son of
William Frederick Pollock, Master of the Court of Exchequer, and Juliet Creed, daughter of the Rev, Harry Creed. He was the grandson of
Sir Frederick Pollock, 1st Baronet,
Lord Chief Baron of the Exchequer
The Chief Baron of the Exchequer was the first "baron" (meaning judge) of the English Exchequer of Pleas. "In the absence of both the Treasurer of the Exchequer or First Lord of the Treasury, and the Chancellor of the Exchequer, it was he who pre ...
, the great-nephew of Field Marshal
Sir George Pollock, 1st Baronet, and the first cousin of
Ernest Pollock, 1st Viscount Hanworth,
Master of the Rolls
The Keeper or Master of the Rolls and Records of the Chancery of England, known as the Master of the Rolls, is the President of the Court of Appeal (England and Wales)#Civil Division, Civil Division of the Court of Appeal of England and Wales a ...
.
He was educated at
Eton College
Eton College () is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school in Eton, Berkshire, England. It was founded in 1440 by Henry VI of England, Henry VI under the name ''Kynge's College of Our Ladye of Eton besyde Windesore'',Nevill, p. 3 ff. i ...
, where he was a King's Scholar, and
Trinity College, Cambridge
Trinity College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Founded in 1546 by King Henry VIII, Trinity is one of the largest Cambridge colleges, with the largest financial endowment of any college at either Cambridge or Oxford. T ...
, where he was elected Fellow in 1868 (later Honorable Fellow in 1920).
[''For My Grandson'' (1933) John Murray, Note B: ''Personal Dates''] In 1871 he was admitted to the Bar. He wrote a series of text books that took a new approach to the teaching of English Law including ''The Principles of Contract at Law and in
Equity'' (1876) and ''The Law of
Torts'' (1887).
Rather than relying on specific applications of law these works emphasised underlying principles. They acted as models for future textbooks and helped modernise English legal education. Pollock taught at the University of Oxford (1883–1903),
as
Corpus Professor of Jurisprudence. He was Professor of Common Law in the Inns of Court (1884–1890).
He was Editor of the Law Reports from 1895 to 1935. He was the first editor of the ''
Law Quarterly Review'' which was founded in 1885.
He was also, in 1894, the Chairman of
The Society of Authors[The Times 1 June 1894] He was admitted to the
Privy Council
A privy council is a body that advises the head of state of a state, typically, but not always, in the context of a monarchic government. The word "privy" means "private" or "secret"; thus, a privy council was originally a committee of the mon ...
in 1911. He was elected Treasurer of Lincoln's Inn in 1931.
Family
Pollock married on 13 August 1873 to Georgina Harriet Deffell (died on 30 March 1935), a daughter of John Deffell.
They had two children:
*Alice Isabella Pollock, born on 15 June 1876, died on 28 June 1953. Married first at
St Marylebone Parish Church
St Marylebone Parish Church is an Anglican church on the Marylebone Road in London. It was built to the designs of Thomas Hardwick in 1813–17. The present site is the third used by the parish for its church. The first was further south, near O ...
in London on 19 November 1902 to
Sydney Waterlow (1878–1944), a diplomat and grandson of
Sir Sydney Waterlow, 1st Baronet. This marriage was annulled in 1912, and she re-married the same year Captain Orlando Cyprian Williams, MC, CB (d.1967).
*
Frederick John Pollock (1878–1963), a noted historian, who succeeded to the baronetcy.
Fencing
Together with his younger brother
Walter Herries Pollock, he participated in the first English revival of
historical fencing, originated by
Alfred Hutton and his colleagues
Egerton Castle
__NOTOC__
Egerton Castle M.A., F.S.A. (12 March 1858 – 16 September 1920) was an author, antiquarian, and swordsman, and an early practitioner of reconstructed historical fencing, frequently in collaboration with his colleague Captain Alfred ...
, Captain Carl Thimm, Colonel Cyril Matthey, Captain Percy Rolt, Captain Ernest George Stenson Cooke, Captain Frank Herbert Whittow. He was cited in a 1897 slander case involving the London Fencing Club when
Sir John Hutton was sued by a French naval officer, Rene Martin Fortris, who accused Hutton of falsely stating that Fortris had been making unwelcome advances towards his daughter for two years. According to Fortris this led to Sir Frederick Pollock and John Norbury declining his application for membership of the London Fencing Club. The jury was unimpressed by Fortris's case and found in favour of Sir John Hutton.
Works
*
9th edition, 1921
* A Digest of the Law of Partnership. F.H. Thomas and Company, St. Louis, 1878
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2nd edition, 1892*
volume II*
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volume II
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4th edition, 1918*
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See also
*
Alfred Hutton
*
HEMA
References
External links
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Works by Sir Frederick Pollock a
Online Library of Liberty*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pollock, Frederick
1845 births
1937 deaths
Anglo-Saxon studies scholars
Alumni of Trinity College, Cambridge
Professors of Jurisprudence (University of Oxford)
Members of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom
Legal historians
Baronets in the Baronetage of the United Kingdom
People educated at Eton College
Members of Lincoln's Inn
English King's Counsel
Academics of the University of Oxford
English legal scholars
Fellows of the British Academy
Spinoza scholars