Thomas Phinn, QC ( – 31 October 1866) was a British

barrister A barrister is a type of lawyer in common law jurisdictions. Barristers mostly specialise in courtroom advocacy and litigation. Their tasks include taking cases in superior courts and tribunals, drafting legal pleadings, researching law and ...

and Liberal Party politician. He held various positions in the

Admiralty Admiralty most often refers to: *Admiralty, Hong Kong * Admiralty (United Kingdom), military department in command of the Royal Navy from 1707 to 1964 *The rank of admiral * Admiralty law Admiralty can also refer to: Buildings *Admiralty, Tr ...

of the United Kingdom in the mid-19th century.

Life

Born in

Bath, Somerset Bath () is a city in the Bath and North East Somerset unitary area in the county of Somerset, England, known for and named after its Roman-built baths. At the 2021 Census, the population was 101,557. Bath is in the valley of the River Avon, ...

, Phinn was educated at Eton College and Exeter College, Oxford. He read for the bar at the Inner Temple, being called in 1840. He was elected at the 1852 general election as Member of Parliament for

Bath Bath may refer to: * Bathing, immersion in a fluid ** Bathtub, a large open container for water, in which a person may wash their body ** Public bathing, a public place where people bathe * Thermae, ancient Roman public bathing facilities Plac ...

, but held that seat for only three years, until 1855. He was appointed

Counsel A counsel or a counsellor at law is a person who gives advice and deals with various issues, particularly in legal matters. It is a title often used interchangeably with the title of ''lawyer''. The word ''counsel'' can also mean advice given ...

to the Admiralty and Judge Advocate of the Fleet on 17 April 1854,'Counsel 1673–1870'
''Office-Holders in Modern Britain: Volume 4: Admiralty Officials 1660–1870'' (1975), pp. 78. and continued in that office until appointed

Second Secretary to the Admiralty The Permanent Secretary of the Admiralty was the permanent secretary at the British Admiralty, Admiralty, the department of state in Great Britain responsible for the administration of the Royal Navy. He was head of the Admiralty Secretariat, late ...

on 22 May 1855, He was made a Queen's Counsel in 1857. a post which required his resignation from the House of Commons. He resigned from the Admiralty on 7 May 1857, but was re-appointed Counsel and Judge-Advocate on 12 November 1863, and held that post until his death on 31 October 1866, in London.

References

Footnotes

Bibliography

C. I. Hamilton Charles Iain Hamilton is a naval historian at the University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa. Early life Hamilton took a BA at Keele University and a PhD at Queens' College, Cambridge in 1974 with a thesis on “The Royal Navy, ...

, ed., "Selections from the Phinn Committee of Inquiry of October–November 1853 into the State of the Office of Secretary to the Admiralty", in ''The Naval Miscellany'', volume V, edited by

N. A. M. Rodger Nicholas Andrew Martin Rodger FSA FRHistS FBA (born 12 November 1949) is a historian of the Royal Navy and senior research fellow of All Souls College, Oxford. Life and academia The son of Lieutenant Commander Ian Alexander Rodger, Royal Navy, ...

, (London: Navy Records Society, London, 1984).

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Phinn, Thomas 1814 births 1866 deaths Alumni of Exeter College, Oxford Liberal Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies Members of the Inner Temple People educated at Eton College People from Bath, Somerset Permanent Secretaries to the Admiralty Politics of Bath, Somerset UK MPs 1852–1857 English King's Counsel English barristers