Sir William Henry Solomon (25 September 1852 – 3 June 1930) was a judge of the Appellate Division from 1910 to 1929 and

Chief Justice of South Africa The Chief Justice of South Africa is the most senior judge of the Constitutional Court of South Africa, Constitutional Court and head of the judiciary of South Africa, who exercises final authority over the functioning and management of all the c ...

from 1927 to 1929.

Early life and family

Born in 1852, he was the son of the missionary Edward Solomon and his wife, Jessie Matthews. He was also the nephew of the great liberal politician and founder of the '' Cape Argus'', Saul Solomon.

Career

From the age of 35, he served for 10 years as a judge for the Griqualand West supreme court. After the end of the

Second Boer War The Second Boer War ( af, Tweede Vryheidsoorlog, , 11 October 189931 May 1902), also known as the Boer War, the Anglo–Boer War, or the South African War, was a conflict fought between the British Empire and the two Boer Republics (the Sout ...

, the government of the newly created British

Colony of Transvaal The Transvaal Colony () was the name used to refer to the Transvaal region during the period of direct British rule and military occupation between the end of the Second Boer War in 1902 when the South African Republic was dissolved, and the ...

established a Supreme Court of Transvaal in April 1902. The governor,

Lord Milner Alfred Milner, 1st Viscount Milner, (23 March 1854 – 13 May 1925) was a British statesman and colonial administrator who played a role in the formulation of British foreign and domestic policy between the mid-1890s and early 1920s. From De ...

, appointed Wessels as one of three puisne judges, with Sir James Rose Innes as Chief Justice. Solomon was transferred to this Supreme Court too, and he was appointed to the first Appeal Court for the new Union of South Africa when it was formed in 1910. He was appointed Chief Justice of South Africa in 1927. At the end of his career he also sat on the

Judicial Committee of the Privy Council The Judicial Committee of the Privy Council (JCPC) is the highest court of appeal for the Crown Dependencies, the British Overseas Territories, some Commonwealth countries and a few institutions in the United Kingdom. Established on 14 Augus ...

. He is buried in the Solomon family plot in Brookwood Cemetery.

References

Chief justices of South Africa South African judges South African knights South African people of Jewish descent 1852 births 1930 deaths 19th-century South African people South African Knights Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George Knights Commander of the Order of the Star of India Burials at Brookwood Cemetery South African members of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom South African Queen's Counsel {{SouthAfrica-bio-stub