William John Law (1786–1869) was a British judge of the 19th century.

Biography

Law was born on 6 December 1786. His father, Ewan Law, second son of

Edmund Law Edmund Law (6 June 1703 – 14 August 1787) was a priest in the Church of England. He served as Master of Peterhouse, Cambridge, as Knightbridge Professor of Philosophy in the University of Cambridge from 1764 to 1769, and as bishop of Carlisle ...

Bishop of Carlisle The Bishop of Carlisle is the Ordinary of the Church of England Diocese of Carlisle in the Province of York. The diocese covers the county of Cumbria except for Alston Moor and the former Sedbergh Rural District. The see is in the city of Car ...

, was Member of Parliament for Westbury, Wiltshire, 1790–5, for Newtown, Isle of Wight, 5 May to 29 June 1802, and died at Horsted, Sussex, 29 April 1829, having married, 28 June 1784, Henrietta Sarah, eldest daughter of Dr. William Markham, Archbishop of York; she died on 15 August 1844, aged 80. The eldest son, William John, was educated at

Westminster School (God Gives the Increase) , established = Earliest records date from the 14th century, refounded in 1560 , type = Public school Independent day and boarding school , religion = Church of England , head_label = Hea ...

, and matriculated, 16 May 1804, from

Christ Church, Oxford Christ Church ( la, Ædes Christi, the temple or house, '' ædēs'', of Christ, and thus sometimes known as "The House") is a constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. Founded in 1546 by King Henry VIII, the college is uniqu ...

, where he held a studentship until 1814. He took a university prize for Latin verse in 1807, a first class in the following year, graduated B.A. 1808, and proceeded M.A. 1810. On 11 February 1813 he was called to the bar at

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 on the passing of Lord Eldon's Act in 1825 became one of the commissioners of bankruptcy. Subsequently, he was appointed a commissioner of the court for the relief of insolvent debtors and on 1 August 1853 was promoted to be the chief commissioner. This court was abolished in 1861. He was a hard-working and intelligent lawyer, possessed of a thorough practical mastery of the branch of justice which he administered for so many years. Though he was not a betting man, he knew the 'Racing Calendar' by heart, and never missed seeing The Derby. His fondness for the

classics Classics or classical studies is the study of classical antiquity. In the Western world, classics traditionally refers to the study of Classical Greek and Roman literature and their related original languages, Ancient Greek and Latin. Classics ...

never declined. Between 1854 and 1856 he was engaged in controversy with Robert Ellis (1820?–1885), whose views respecting

Hannibal Hannibal (; xpu, 𐤇𐤍𐤁𐤏𐤋, ''Ḥannibaʿl''; 247 – between 183 and 181 BC) was a Carthaginian general and statesman who commanded the forces of Carthage in their battle against the Roman Republic during the Second Puni ...

's route over the

Alps The Alps () ; german: Alpen ; it, Alpi ; rm, Alps ; sl, Alpe . are the highest and most extensive mountain range system that lies entirely in Europe, stretching approximately across seven Alpine countries (from west to east): France, Sw ...

he sharply attacked in three pamphlets (1855–6). In 1866 he published a voluminous treatise, in 2 vols., ''On the Passage of Hannibal over the Alps'', which had formed his employment in his intervals from business during many years. He lived at 2 Upper Brook Street,

Mayfair Mayfair is an affluent area in the West End of London towards the eastern edge of Hyde Park, in the City of Westminster, between Oxford Street, Regent Street, Piccadilly and Park Lane. It is one of the most expensive districts in the world. ...

from 1831 to 1835. He died at 5 Sussex Square,

Brighton Brighton () is a seaside resort and one of the two main areas of the City of Brighton and Hove in the county of East Sussex, England. It is located south of London. Archaeological evidence of settlement in the area dates back to the Bronze A ...

, 5 October 1869, having married, 1 January 1817, Charlotte Elizabeth, daughter of Robert Simpson of Middlethorpe Hall,

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 ...

Publications

His works include: :# ''Reports of Cases in the Court for Relief of Insolvent Debtors'', by H. R. Reynolds and W. J. Law, 1830. :# ''Comments on the New Scheme of Insolvency, with Remarks on the Law of Certificate in Bankruptcy'', 1843. :# ''Some Remarks on the Alpine Passes of Strabo'', 1846. :# ''History of a Court-Martial held 1848 on Lieutenant E. Plowden. Sentence Reversed in 1854'', 1854. :# ''Remarks on the right of Personal Protection acquired through Bankruptcy and the Contempt of it by certain County Courts'', 1855. :# ''A Letter to E. Cooke, Esq., on Illegal Commitments made by some Judges of County Courts'', 1856. :# ''Comments on the Bankruptcy and Liquidation Act, 1858'', 1859. :# ''Remarks on the Bankruptcy Act, 1861'', 1862.

Notes

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Law, William John 1786 births 1869 deaths Alumni of Christ Church, Oxford 19th-century English judges People educated at Westminster School, London People from Horsted Keynes