Sir John William Salmond (3 December 1862 – 19 September 1924) was a legal scholar, public servant and judge in New Zealand.

Biography

Salmond was born in

North Shields North Shields () is a town in the Borough of North Tyneside in Tyne and Wear, England. It is north-east of Newcastle upon Tyne and borders nearby Wallsend and Tynemouth. Since 1974, it has been in the North Tyneside borough of Tyne and Wea ...

Northumberland Northumberland () is a county in Northern England, one of two counties in England which border with Scotland. Notable landmarks in the county include Alnwick Castle, Bamburgh Castle, Hadrian's Wall and Hexham Abbey. It is bordered by land ...

, England, the eldest son of William Salmond (died 1917), a Presbyterian minister and professor. His family emigrated to

Dunedin Dunedin ( ; mi, Ōtepoti) is the second-largest city in the South Island of New Zealand (after Christchurch), and the principal city of the Otago region. Its name comes from , the Scottish Gaelic name for Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland. Th ...

, New Zealand, in 1876 where he attended

Otago Boys' High School , motto_translation = "The ‘right’ learning builds a heart of oak" , type = State secondary, day and boarding , established = ; years ago , streetaddress= 2 Arthur Street , region = Dunedin , state = Otago , zipcod ...

(1876–79). Salmond graduated from the

University of Otago , image_name = University of Otago Registry Building2.jpg , image_size = , caption = University clock tower , motto = la, Sapere aude , mottoeng = Dare to be wise , established = 1869; 152 years ago , type = Public research collegiate ...

in 1882 with a

Bachelor of Arts Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four yea ...

degree and later a

Master of Arts A Master of Arts ( la, Magister Artium or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA, M.A., AM, or A.M.) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Tho ...

. He then obtained a Gilchrist scholarship to study at

University College, London , mottoeng = Let all come who by merit deserve the most reward , established = , type = Public research university , endowment = £143 million (2020) , budget = � ...

, where he graduated in law and became a fellow. Returning to New Zealand in 1887, he was admitted as a barrister and solicitor of the Supreme Court, and practised in

Temuka Temuka is a town on New Zealand's Canterbury Plains, 15 kilometres north of Timaru and 142 km south of Christchurch. It is located at the centre of a rich sheep and dairy farming region, for which it is a service town. It lies on the no ...

in South Canterbury. In 1897 he was appointed professor of law at the

University of Adelaide The University of Adelaide (informally Adelaide University) is a public research university located in Adelaide, South Australia. Established in 1874, it is the third-oldest university in Australia. The university's main campus is located on N ...

, South Australia, and in 1906 he returned to New Zealand to take up the founding chair in law at

Victoria University College Victoria University of Wellington ( mi, Te Herenga Waka) is a university in Wellington, Wellington, New Zealand. It was established in 1897 by Act of New Zealand Parliament, Parliament, and was a constituent college of the University of New Z ...

Wellington Wellington ( mi, Te Whanganui-a-Tara or ) is the capital city of New Zealand. It is located at the south-western tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Remutaka Range. Wellington is the second-largest city in New Zealand by ...

. In 1907 Salmond was appointed as Counsel to the Law Drafting Office where he remained for four years, until his appointment in 1911 as Solicitor-General. He was made a

King's Counsel In the United Kingdom and in some Commonwealth countries, a King's Counsel (post-nominal initials KC) during the reign of a king, or Queen's Counsel (post-nominal initials QC) during the reign of a queen, is a lawyer (usually a barrister or ...

in 1912, knighted in 1918, and appointed a judge of the

Supreme Court of New Zealand The Supreme Court of New Zealand ( mi, Te Kōti Mana Nui, lit=Court of Great Mana) is the highest court and the court of last resort of New Zealand. It formally came into being on 1 January 2004 and sat for the first time on 1 July 2004. It re ...

(now known as the High Court) in 1920. Salmond represented New Zealand at the

Washington Naval Conference The Washington Naval Conference was a disarmament conference called by the United States and held in Washington, DC from November 12, 1921 to February 6, 1922. It was conducted outside the auspices of the League of Nations. It was attended by nine ...

from November 1921 to February 1922. Upon his return to New Zealand he resumed his judicial duties but died, following a heart attack, in Wellington, and was buried in

Karori Cemetery Karori Cemetery is New Zealand's second largest cemetery, located in the Wellington suburb of Karori. History Karori Cemetery opened in 1891 to address overcrowding at Bolton Street Cemetery. In 1909, it received New Zealand's first cremat ...

. Salmond married Anne Bryham Guthrie (1861–1941), daughter of James Guthrie of

Newcastle upon Tyne Newcastle upon Tyne ( RP: , ), or simply Newcastle, is a city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England. The city is located on the River Tyne's northern bank and forms the largest part of the Tyneside built-up area. Newcastle is ...

, England, in 1891 in Dunedin. They had two sons and a daughter, of whom the eldest, Captain William Guthrie Salmond, was killed in action in

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

in July 1918.

Publications

He was the author of several legal texts: *''Jurisprudence or the Theory of the Law'' (1902) (for which Salmond was awarded the

Swiney Prize The Swiney Prize, a British award made every five years by the Royal Society of Arts with the Royal College of Physicians, was set up by the will of George Swiney, an English physician who died in 1844. The prize came to be awarded alternately ...

in 1914 by the

Royal Society of Arts The Royal Society for the Encouragement of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce (RSA), also known as the Royal Society of Arts, is a London-based organisation committed to finding practical solutions to social challenges. The RSA acronym is used m ...

) *''The Law of Torts'' (1907) (for which Harvard University in 1911 awarded Salmond the James Barr Ames Prize for the best legal treatise published in the world over a period of five years) *''Principles of the Law of Contracts'' (1927) with P. H. Winfield. Two of these in particular, ''Salmond on Jurisprudence'' and ''Salmond on Torts'', are regarded as legal classics.

Legacy

The Law Library at the

University of Adelaide Law School Adelaide Law School is a law school in Adelaide, Australia and is part of the University of Adelaide. It is the second oldest law school in Australia having been founded in 1883 and offers undergraduate and postgraduate qualifications. There h ...

is named in his honor. The function room at the Victoria University of Wellington Law School in the

Old Government Buildings, Wellington The Government Buildings Historic Reserve, or more commonly referred to as the Old Government Buildings, is situated on Lambton Quay in Wellington. It was completed in 1876, and until 1998 was the second-largest wooden building in the world (aft ...

is called the Salmond Room, and contains a selection of Salmond-related memorabilia.

Notes

References

*Diane Langmore, 'Salmond, Sir John William (1862–1924)',

Australian Dictionary of Biography The ''Australian Dictionary of Biography'' (ADB or AuDB) is a national co-operative enterprise founded and maintained by the Australian National University (ANU) to produce authoritative biographical articles on eminent people in Australia's ...

, Volume 11,

Melbourne University Press Melbourne University Publishing (MUP) is the book publishing arm of the University of Melbourne. History MUP was founded in 1922 as Melbourne University Press to sell text books and stationery to students, and soon began publishing books itself. ...

, 1988, pp. 512–513. *J. J. Pascoe (ed), History of Adelaide and Vicinity (Adel, 1901). *McLintock, A. H. (ed.), An Encyclopaedia of New Zealand, vol 3, R. E. Owen, Government Printer, (Wellington, 1966). *A. Castles et al. (eds), Law on North Terrace (Adel, 1983). *Honorary Magistrate, Jan 1966; Observer (Adelaide), 29 May 1897. *Times (London), 22 February 1924. *letter to W. R. Phillips 9 August 1904, S. J. Way letter book (State Library of South Australia) *Alex Frame, ''Salmond: Southern Jurist'' (Victoria University Press, Wellington, 1995)

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Salmond, John 1862 births 1924 deaths High Court of New Zealand judges University of Otago alumni Alumni of University College London New Zealand King's Counsel Solicitors-General of New Zealand People from North Shields English emigrants to New Zealand People educated at Otago Boys' High School 19th-century New Zealand lawyers University of Adelaide faculty Victoria University of Wellington faculty New Zealand Knights Bachelor Burials at Karori Cemetery 20th-century New Zealand judges

John John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Secon ...