Thomas Flower Ellis, (5 December 1796 – 5 April 1861) was an English law reporter. Ellis was the son of Thomas Flower Ellis, a merchant in the West India trade, and his wife Frances, ''née'' Danvers. Born in

Walthamstow Walthamstow ( or ) is a large town in East London, east London, England, within the Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county of Greater London and the Historic counties of England, ancient county of Essex. Situated northeast of Chari ...

, he was educated in Hackney and at

Trinity College, Cambridge Trinity College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Founded in 1546 by Henry VIII, King Henry VIII, Trinity is one of the largest Cambridge colleges, with the largest financial endowment of any college at either Cambridge ...

, where he graduated with a BA in 1818, and was elected a fellow in 1819. He graduated with an MA there in 1821, and relinquished his fellowship that same year on his marriage, on 5 September 1821, to Susan McTaggart (1796/97–1839), daughter of John McTaggart of Ardwal. He became a member of

Lincoln's Inn The Honourable Society of Lincoln's Inn is one of the four Inns of Court in London to which barristers of England and Wales belong and where they are called to the Bar. (The other three are Middle Temple, Inner Temple and Gray's Inn.) Lincoln ...

, 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 February 1824, and for some years went to the northern circuit. Here he first became acquainted with

Thomas Babington Macaulay Thomas Babington Macaulay, 1st Baron Macaulay, (; 25 October 1800 – 28 December 1859) was a British historian and Whig politician, who served as the Secretary at War between 1839 and 1841, and as the Paymaster-General between 1846 and 184 ...

, and he remained Macaulay's close friend until his death. So attached were they, that when Macaulay went to

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

, Ellis wrote to him that, "next to his wife, he was the person for whom he felt the most thorough attachment, and in whom he placed the most unlimited confidence". In later life, they visited the continent together every autumn, and he was an executor of Macaulay's will. After his friend died the light seemed to have gone out of Ellis's life, but he occupied himself in preparing for publication the posthumous collection of Macaulay's essays. In 1831 he was a commissioner under the Reform Act 1831 to determine the boundaries of parliamentary boroughs in

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 ...

. He was, till his death, Attorney-General for the

Duchy of Lancaster The Duchy of Lancaster is the private estate of the Monarchy of the United Kingdom, British sovereign as Duke of Lancaster. The principal purpose of the estate is to provide a source of independent income to the sovereign. The estate consists of ...

, and had "Palatine silk"; and in 1839 he succeeded Armstrong as Recorder of

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 ...

. He was, about 1830, a contributor to the ''

Edinburgh Review The ''Edinburgh Review'' is the title of four distinct intellectual and cultural magazines. The best known, longest-lasting, and most influential of the four was the third, which was published regularly from 1802 to 1929. ''Edinburgh Review'', ...

'', was a member of the

Society for the Diffusion of Useful Knowledge The Society for the Diffusion of Useful Knowledge (SDUK) was founded in London in 1826, mainly at the instigation of Whig MP Henry Brougham, with the object of publishing information to people who were unable to obtain formal teaching or who pr ...

, and revised several of its publications. He is best known as co-author of three excellent series of law reports: (with

John Leycester Adolphus John Leycester Adolphus (1795–1862) was an English lawyer, jurist and author. Life He was the son of Martha Elizabeth née Leycester (1765-1842) and John Adolphus (1768–1845), a well-known London barrister who wrote ''A History of England ...

) ''Adolphus and Ellis'', 1835–1842; (with

Colin Blackburn Colin Blackburn, Baron Blackburn, (18 May 1813 – 8 January 1896) was a Scottish judge who is remembered as one of the greatest exponents of the common law. At one point, Blackburn was a judge in the Court of Exchequer Chamber. On 16 October ...

) ''Ellis and Blackburn'', 1853–1858; and (with his son Francis) ''Ellis and Ellis'', published after his death. He was a

Fellow of the Royal Astronomical Society (Whatever shines should be observed) , predecessor = , successor = , formation = , founder = , extinction = , merger = , merged = , type = NGO ...

, and having been elected in May 1820, was one of that society's earliest members. He was also, from 1847, a

Fellow of the Royal Society Fellowship of the Royal Society (FRS, ForMemRS and HonFRS) is an award granted by the judges of the Royal Society of London to individuals who have made a "substantial contribution to the improvement of natural science, natural knowledge, incl ...

. He died at his house, 15 Bedford Place,

Russell Square Russell Square is a large garden square in Bloomsbury, in the London Borough of Camden, built predominantly by the firm of James Burton. It is near the University of London's main buildings and the British Museum. Almost exactly square, to the ...

, on 5 April 1861. His wife Susan ''nee'' McTaggart, died on 18 March 1839. They had five sons and two daughters. Their grandson by Francis Ellis, and his wife Caroline Ellis, was the philosopher

John McTaggart Ellis McTaggart John McTaggart Ellis McTaggart (3 September 1866 – 18 January 1925) was an English idealist metaphysician. For most of his life McTaggart was a fellow and lecturer in philosophy at Trinity College, Cambridge. He was an exponent of the phil ...

(who was named after Susan's brother Sir John McTaggart). His youngest brother (and the father of Caroline Ellis) was Edward Chauncy Ellis. Dickinson, G. Lowes (1931)
''J. McTaggart E. McTaggart''.
Cambridge University Press. pp. 1, 4–5.

ISBN The International Standard Book Number (ISBN) is a numeric commercial book identifier that is intended to be unique. Publishers purchase ISBNs from an affiliate of the International ISBN Agency. An ISBN is assigned to each separate edition and ...

978-1-107-49491-6. His cousin was

Robert Leslie Ellis Robert Leslie Ellis (25 August 1817 – 12 May 1859) was an English polymath, remembered principally as a mathematician and editor of the works of Francis Bacon. Biography Ellis was the youngest of six children of Francis Ellis (1772–1842) of B ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ellis, Thomas Flower 1796 births 1861 deaths Alumni of Trinity College, Cambridge Fellows of Trinity College, Cambridge Members of Lincoln's Inn Fellows of the Royal Astronomical Society Fellows of the Royal Society Committee members of the Society for the Diffusion of Useful Knowledge