Sir Thomas Crossley Rayner (19 April 1860 – 22 May 1914) was a British colonial judge who became

Chief Justice of British Guiana The Chief Justice of Guyana is the senior judge of the High Court of the Supreme Court of Guyana and is appointed by the President of Guyana. The High Court consists of the Chief Justice as President of the Court supported by several Puisne Judges. ...

Early life

He was born the only son of Thomas Rayner, MD of Manchester, England and matriculated from

Owen's College, Manchester The Victoria University of Manchester, usually referred to as simply the University of Manchester, was a university in Manchester, England. It was founded in 1851 as Owens College. In 1880, the college joined the federal Victoria University. Afte ...

in 1878. He entered the

Inner Temple The Honourable Society of the Inner Temple, commonly known as the Inner Temple, is one of the four Inns of Court and is a professional associations for barristers and judges. To be called to the Bar and practise as a barrister in England and Wal ...

to study law, 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 1882 and worked as a judge on the Northern circuit.

Legal career

He became a District Commissioner in the

Gold Coast Gold Coast may refer to: Places Africa * Gold Coast (region), in West Africa, which was made up of the following colonies, before being established as the independent nation of Ghana: ** Portuguese Gold Coast (Portuguese, 1482–1642) ** Dutch G ...

in 1887, a magistrate in

Trinidad Trinidad is the larger and more populous of the two major islands of Trinidad and Tobago. The island lies off the northeastern coast of Venezuela and sits on the continental shelf of South America. It is often referred to as the southernmos ...

in 1891 and briefly

Governor of Tobago This article lists governors of Tobago. Governors of Tobago have been referred to by the formal titles of "Governor" and "Lieutenant-Governor". For governors of the united Trinidad and Tobago after 1889 see List of Governors of Trinidad and Tobago ...

in 1892, a Puisne Judge in the Gold Coast in 1894 and Chief Justice of Lagos in 1895. He then moved back to the West Indies in 1902 to become

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 ...

British Guiana British Guiana was a British colony, part of the mainland British West Indies, which resides on the northern coast of South America. Since 1966 it has been known as the independent nation of Guyana. The first European to encounter Guiana was S ...

, where he was elevated in 1912 to the post of Chief Justice. He was knighted in the

1899 Birthday Honours The Queen's Birthday Honours 1899 were announced on 3 June 1899 in celebration of the birthday of Queen Victoria. The list included appointments to various orders and honours of the United Kingdom and British India. The list was published in '' ...

. He published ''The Laws of British Guiana'' in 1905.

Private life

He was a member of the National Footpaths Preservation Society. He died in Georgetown, British Guiana in 1914. He had married Agnes Harrison in Manchester in 1889. Their son, Oliver Crossley Rayner, was killed in the first World War.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rayner, Thomas Crossley 1860 births 1914 deaths Lawyers from Manchester Members of the Inner Temple Chief Justices of British Guiana 19th-century English lawyers