Sir George Phillippo (1833 – 16 February 1914) was Chief Justice of Hong Kong in the late 19th century. He often attended the

Legislative Council of Hong Kong The Legislative Council of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (LegCo) is the unicameral legislature of Hong Kong. It sits under China's " one country, two systems" constitutional arrangement, and is the power centre of Hong Kon ...

sittings from around 1884 to 1888.

Early life and education

Phillippo was born in

Spanish Town Spanish Town ( jam, label= Jamaican Creole, Panish Tong) is the capital and the largest town in the parish of St. Catherine in the historic county of Middlesex, Jamaica. It was the Spanish and British capital of Jamaica from 1534 until 1872. T ...

, St Catherine's,

Jamaica Jamaica (; ) is an island country situated in the Caribbean Sea. Spanning in area, it is the third-largest island of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean (after Cuba and Hispaniola). Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, and west of Hispa ...

in 1833, the son of Rev.

James Phillippo James Phillippo (1798 in Norfolk, England – 11 May 1879, in Spanish Town, Jamaica) was an English Baptist missionary in Jamaica who campaigned for the abolition of slavery. He served in Jamaica from 1823 to his death, with some periods lo ...

and Hannah Elizabeth Cecil. He went to school in

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe ...

, trained as a

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 givin ...

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 1862. He did not practise law in England at that time, but returned to Jamaica, where he married Mary Clark, the daughter of Rev. John Clark, a colleague of his father in 1862. Mary's sister Hannah was married to George's brother James.

Legal practice

In 1862 George was called to the

n Bar and, although he did practise law in

, within a few years he began an illustrious career with the British government and took up appointments in many parts of the world. His wife Mary died 16 April 1890. Later in 1890 he married Eliza Hughes, daughter of

Thomas Hughes Thomas Hughes (20 October 182222 March 1896) was an English lawyer, judge, politician and author. He is most famous for his novel ''Tom Brown's School Days'' (1857), a semi-autobiographical work set at Rugby School, which Hughes had attended. ...

while in London. Some highlights of his career: * Barrister-at-Law,

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 ...

, 1862 * Admitted to the Jamaica Bar, 1862 * Queen's Advocate,

Sierra Leone Sierra Leone,)]. officially the Republic of Sierra Leone, is a country on the southwest coast of West Africa. It is bordered by Liberia to the southeast and Guinea surrounds the northern half of the nation. Covering a total area of , Sierr ...

1868 * Commissioner then

Attorney-General of British Columbia The attorney general of British Columbia (AG) oversees the Ministry of Attorney General, a provincial government department responsible for the oversight of the justice system, within the province of British Columbia, Canada. The attorney genera ...

, 1870 * Member of the Legislative Council of the Colony of British Columbia, 1871 * Puisne Judge,

British Guiana British Guiana was a British colony, part of the mainland British West Indies, which resides on the northern coast of South America. Since 1966 it has been known as the independent nation of Guyana. The first European to encounter Guiana was ...

, 1872 * Puisne Judge of

Straits Settlements The Straits Settlements were a group of British territories located in Southeast Asia. Headquartered in Singapore for more than a century, it was originally established in 1826 as part of the territories controlled by the British East India Com ...

, 1874–76 * Attorney General of Hong Kong, 1876–79 *

Chief Justice of Gibraltar The Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Gibraltar is one of the four judges who make up the supreme court of Gibraltar. Previously the Chief Justice was appointed by the Governor of Gibraltar on the advice of the British Foreign and Commonwealt ...

, 1879–82 * Knighted, 1882 * Chief Justice of Hong Kong, 1882–88 * Has

Perak Perak () is a state of Malaysia on the west coast of the Malay Peninsula. Perak has land borders with the Malaysian states of Kedah to the north, Penang to the northwest, Kelantan and Pahang to the east, and Selangor to the south. Thailand' ...

medal * Retired from the

Colonial Service The Colonial Service, also known as His/Her Majesty's Colonial Service and replaced in 1954 by Her Majesty's Overseas Civil Service (HMOCS), was the British government service that administered most of Britain's overseas possessions, under the aut ...

, 5 October 1888 * Returned to private law practice, 1888–97 * Appointed Her Majesty's Consul at

Geneva Geneva ( ; french: Genève ) frp, Genèva ; german: link=no, Genf ; it, Ginevra ; rm, Genevra is the second-most populous city in Switzerland (after Zürich) and the most populous city of Romandy, the French-speaking part of Switzerland. Situa ...

, 1897

Retirement and death

He retired from Colonial Service as Chief Justice of Hong Kong on 5 October 1888. In 1897 he was appointed as the British High Consul in

Switzerland ). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...

. After he retired from public life in 1910 he decided to remain in Geneva and it was there he died on 16 February 1914. His funeral was conducted at the English Church in Geneva.Hong Kong Telegraph, 14 February 1914

External links

Portraits of Phillipo's second wife, Eliza

References

* Burke's Peerage, 1906 * Minutes of the Vancouver Island Legislative Council, 1871 * Minutes of the Hong Kong and Territories Legislative Council 1882-88 {{DEFAULTSORT:Phillippo, George Chief Justices of the Supreme Court of Hong Kong 1833 births 1914 deaths 19th-century Jamaican lawyers People from Spanish Town British Malaya lawyers Attorneys General of British Columbia Attorneys General of Hong Kong Members of the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia British diplomats British Hong Kong judges Place of birth missing Chief justices of Gibraltar Straits Settlements judges British Guiana judges British colonial attorneys general in the Americas Members of the Legislative Council of British Columbia Jamaican people of English descent 19th-century Gibraltarian judges