Sir Thomas Denison (1699 – 8 September 1765) was a British

judge A judge is a person who presides over court proceedings, either alone or as a part of a panel of judges. A judge hears all the witnesses and any other evidence presented by the barristers or solicitors of the case, assesses the credibility an ...

. Born in

Leeds Leeds () is a city and the administrative centre of the City of Leeds district in West Yorkshire, England. It is built around the River Aire and is in the eastern foothills of the Pennines. It is also the third-largest settlement (by populati ...

, a city in West Yorkshire, England). Denison's father William was a clothier described as "an opulent merchant at Leeds".Edward Foss, ''The Judges of England, With Sketches of Their Lives'' (1864), Volume 8, p. 266-268. Denison, the younger of two sons, was educated at the

Leeds Grammar School Leeds Grammar School was an independent school founded 1552 in Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. Originally a male-only school, in August 2005 it merged with Leeds Girls' High School to form The Grammar School at Leeds. The two schools physically ...

, and entered the Inner Temple in 1718 to receive his legal education; he was thereafter called to the bar.Richard Vickerman Taylor, ''The Biographia Leodiensis: Or, Biographical Sketches of the Worthies of Leeds and Neighbourhood'' (1865), p.169-170. He was successful as a lawyer, and in December 1741, he was appointed to succeed Sir Francis Page on the Court of the

King's Bench The King's Bench (), or, during the reign of a female monarch, the Queen's Bench ('), refers to several contemporary and historical courts in some Commonwealth jurisdictions. * Court of King's Bench (England), a historic court court of commo ...

, taking office on 16 February 1742. He served in that capacity for over twenty-three years, under chief justices, Sir William Lee,

Sir Dudley Ryder Sir Dudley Ryder (4 November 1691 – 25 May 1756), of Tooting Surrey, was a British lawyer, diarist and politician, who sat in the House of Commons from 1733 until 1754 when he was appointed Chief Justice of the King's Bench. Early life ...

, and

Lord Mansfield William Murray, 1st Earl of Mansfield, PC, SL (2 March 170520 March 1793) was a British barrister, politician and judge noted for his reform of English law. Born to Scottish nobility, he was educated in Perth, Scotland, before moving to Lond ...

, resigning on 14 February 1765 on the account of poor health and failing eyesight. He died in September that year and was buried in Harewood in

Yorkshire Yorkshire ( ; abbreviated Yorks), formally known as the County of York, is a Historic counties of England, historic county in northern England and by far the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its large area in comparison with other Eng ...

. Per his instruction, Denison was buried next to admired former Chief Justice

William Gascoigne Sir William Gascoigne (c. 135017 December 1419) was Chief Justice of England during the reign of King Henry IV. Life and work Gascoigne (alternatively spelled Gascoyne) was a descendant of an ancient Yorkshire family. He was born in Gawthor ...

; a memorial was erected in his honor with an inscription by his closest friend,

. Denison had no children. His wife, Anne, daughter of Robert Smithson, Esq., died twenty years later, and his estate passed to his wife's grand-niece, who married Edmund the fifth son of Sir John Beckett, Bart. who then assumed the name of Denison. Denison's grand-nephew,

John Evelyn Denison John Evelyn Denison, 1st Viscount Ossington, PC (27 January 1800 – 7 March 1873) was a British statesman who served as Speaker of the House of Commons from 1857 to 1872. He is the eponym of Speaker Denison's rule. Background and education De ...

, would become speaker of the House of Commons in the 1800s.

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Denison, Thomas 1699 births 1765 deaths 18th-century English judges People from Leeds