Sir Thomas Sidgreaves (25 October 1831 – 23 December 1889) was a British colonial judge who was Chief Justice of the Straits Settlements from 1871 to 1886. Sidgreaves was born in

Preston, Lancashire Preston () is a city on the north bank of the River Ribble in Lancashire, England. The city is the administrative centre of the county of Lancashire and the wider City of Preston local government district. Preston and its surrounding distri ...

into a Catholic family, the second son of George Sidgreaves. He was educated at Stonyhurst College and the

University of London The University of London (UoL; abbreviated as Lond or more rarely Londin in post-nominals) is a federal public research university located in London, England, United Kingdom. The university was established by royal charter in 1836 as a degree ...

, earning a B.A. in 1853. He was called to the bar at 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 ...

in 1857. He was knighted in 1874 for service in

British India The provinces of India, earlier presidencies of British India and still earlier, presidency towns, were the administrative divisions of British governance on the Indian subcontinent. Collectively, they have been called British India. In one ...

. He married Barbara Young, with whom he had six children, including Sir Arthur Sidgreaves, head of

Rolls-Royce Rolls-Royce (always hyphenated) may refer to: * Rolls-Royce Limited, a British manufacturer of cars and later aero engines, founded in 1906, now defunct Automobiles * Rolls-Royce Motor Cars, the current car manufacturing company incorporated in ...

. He died by suicide in

Great Malvern Great Malvern is an area of the spa town of Malvern, Worcestershire, England. It lies at the foot of the Malvern Hills, a designated Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, on the eastern flanks of the Worcestershire Beacon and North Hill, and i ...

, shooting himself in the chest in his garden. He had been suffering from depression because of recent financial losses, though he was entitled to a yearly pension of £1,200 (). A jury returned a verdict of "suicide while of unsound mind" in the case. He was 60 years old.

References

1831 births 1889 deaths English Roman Catholics Lawyers from Preston, Lancashire Chief Justices of the Straits Settlements Knights Bachelor Straits Settlements judges People educated at Stonyhurst College Suicides by firearm in England Members of the Inner Temple 1880s suicides {{England-law-bio-stub