Sir Christopher Rawlinson (10 July 1806 – 28 March 1888) was an English colonial judge who was

Chief Justice of Madras The Madras High Court is a High Courts of India, High Court in India. It has appellate jurisdiction over the state of Tamil Nadu and the union territory of Puducherry (union territory), Puducherry. It is located in Chennai, and is the third old ...

and the first vice-chancellor of the

University of Madras The University of Madras (informally known as Madras University) is a public university, public State university (India), state university in Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India. Established in 1857, it is one of the oldest and among the most prestigiou ...

. Rawlinson was born at Combe, Hampshire, the second son of police magistrate John Rawlinson (1777/8-1847) of New Place, Alresford, and of Clatford and Combe, Hampshire, by his wife Felicia, daughter of Thomas Watson, of Haydon Hall, Middlesex.A Genealogical and Heraldic Dictionary of the Landed Gentry of Great Britain and Ireland for 1850, vol. II, John B. Burke, Henry Colburn, 1850, p. 1101 He was educated at the

Charterhouse Charterhouse may refer to: * Charterhouse (monastery), of the Carthusian religious order Charterhouse may also refer to: Places * The Charterhouse, Coventry, a former monastery * Charterhouse School, an English public school in Surrey London ...

and at

Trinity College, Cambridge Trinity College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Founded in 1546 by Henry VIII, King Henry VIII, Trinity is one of the largest Cambridge colleges, with the largest financial endowment of any college at either Cambridge ...

(B.A. 1828, M.A. 1831).

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 ...

at the

Middle Temple The Honourable Society of the Middle Temple, commonly known simply as Middle Temple, is one of the four Inns of Court exclusively entitled to call their members to the English Bar as barristers, the others being the Inner Temple, Gray's Inn an ...

(as his father had been) in 1831, he joined the western circuit in 1832, and was recorder of

Portsmouth Portsmouth ( ) is a port and city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. The city of Portsmouth has been a unitary authority since 1 April 1997 and is administered by Portsmouth City Council. Portsmouth is the most dens ...

from 1840 to 1847, when he was appointed recorder of Prince of Wales Island, Singapore, and Malacca. In 1847 he was knighted. In 1849 he was appointed Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Judicature at Madras, and held that position till his retirement in 1859. In his charge to the

grand jury A grand jury is a jury—a group of citizens—empowered by law to conduct legal proceedings, investigate potential criminal conduct, and determine whether criminal charges should be brought. A grand jury may subpoena physical evidence or a pe ...

on 5 January 1859 he expressed the belief that great benefits would accrue from the recent transfer of the government of India from the

East India Company The East India Company (EIC) was an English, and later British, joint-stock company founded in 1600 and dissolved in 1874. It was formed to trade in the Indian Ocean region, initially with the East Indies (the Indian subcontinent and Southea ...

to the

Crown A crown is a traditional form of head adornment, or hat, worn by monarchs as a symbol of their power and dignity. A crown is often, by extension, a symbol of the monarch's government or items endorsed by it. The word itself is used, partic ...

, and refuted the assertion then commonly made by English officials in India, that no materials for self-government existed in the country. On 9 February 1859 he was presented with a farewell address by the native community of Madras at an entertainment at which the governor,

Lord Harris Colonel George Robert Canning Harris, 4th Baron Harris, (3 February 1851 – 24 March 1932), generally known as Lord Harris, was a British colonial administrator and Governor of Bombay. He was also an English amateur cricketer, mainly active f ...

, was present. In 1842 he published a work on "The Municipal Practices Act". He died at 33

Eaton Square Eaton Square is a rectangular, residential garden square in London's Belgravia district. It is the largest square in London. It is one of the three squares built by the landowning Grosvenor family when they developed the main part of Belgravia ...

, London, on 28 March 1888. On 27 May 1847 he had married Georgina Maria, younger daughter of Alexander Radclyffe Sidebottom,

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 ...

, by whom he had three sons—Christopher (b. 1850), Albemarle Alexander, late major 8th hussars, John Frederick Peel—and one daughter. His nephew by marriage was William Melmoth Walters, whose daughter Gertrude married Rawlinson's nephew Thomas Arthur Rawlinson and was mother of the screenwriter and film producer

A. R. Rawlinson Lieutenant-Colonel Arthur Richard Rawlinson, OBE (9 August 1894 – 20 April 1984) was a British Army officer who served on the Western Front, and then in military intelligence in both World Wars. He served as head of MI.9a, and of MI.19. In ...

.The Law Times, vol. 96, 1894, p. 46

References

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Rawlinson, Christopher Members of the Middle Temple 1806 births 1888 deaths Vice Chancellors of the University of Madras Knights Bachelor Chief Justices of the Madras High Court People educated at Charterhouse School Alumni of Trinity College, Cambridge British India judges