Richard Henn Collins, Baron Collins (31 January 1842 – 3 January 1911) was an

Anglo-Irish Anglo-Irish people () denotes an ethnic, social and religious grouping who are mostly the descendants and successors of the English Protestant Ascendancy in Ireland. They mostly belong to the Anglican Church of Ireland, which was the State rel ...

lawyer and judge.

Life

Born in

Dublin Dublin is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Situated on Dublin Bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, and is bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, pa ...

, Collins was educated at the Royal School Dungannon and

Trinity College Dublin Trinity College Dublin (), officially titled The College of the Holy and Undivided Trinity of Queen Elizabeth near Dublin, and legally incorporated as Trinity College, the University of Dublin (TCD), is the sole constituent college of the Unive ...

(where he was elected a Scholar), and Downing College, Cambridge. In 1867, he was called to the English bar and joined the northern circuit. He was made a

Queen's Counsel A King's Counsel (Post-nominal letters, post-nominal initials KC) is a senior lawyer appointed by the monarch (or their Viceroy, viceregal representative) of some Commonwealth realms as a "Counsel learned in the law". When the reigning monarc ...

in 1883 and a judge in 1891. Having made a Lord Justice of Appeal in 1897, he was appointed also to the Privy Council. In October 1901, Collins became Master of the Rolls after the death of Sir Archibald Smith, and the following month was appointed to the accompanying post of Chairman of the Historical Manuscripts Commission. He received the honorary degree LL.D. from the

University of Cambridge The University of Cambridge is a Public university, public collegiate university, collegiate research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209, the University of Cambridge is the List of oldest universities in continuous operation, wo ...

in May 1902. On 6 March 1907 he was appointed a Lord of Appeal in Ordinary, receiving additionally a

life peerage In the United Kingdom, life peers are appointed members of the peerage whose titles cannot be inherited, in contrast to hereditary peers. Life peers are appointed by the monarch on the advice of the prime minister. With the exception of the D ...

with the title Baron Collins, ''of

Kensington Kensington is an area of London in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, around west of Central London. The district's commercial heart is Kensington High Street, running on an east–west axis. The north-east is taken up by Kensingt ...

in the County of London''. He resigned as Lord of Appeal on 9 January 1910. Lord Collins was judge of the trial of

Oscar Wilde Oscar Fingal O'Fflahertie Wills Wilde (16 October 185430 November 1900) was an Irish author, poet, and playwright. After writing in different literary styles throughout the 1880s, he became one of the most popular and influential playwright ...

's libel prosecution against the Marquess of Queensberry on 3 April 1895 (as noted in "The Trials of Oscar Wilde", by H. Montgomery Hyde (1962) at p97). He represented

Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the north-west coast of continental Europe, consisting of the countries England, Scotland, and Wales. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the List of European ...

on the Venezuela Boundary Commission, established to adjudicate in the boundary dispute between

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

and

Venezuela Venezuela, officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many Federal Dependencies of Venezuela, islands and islets in the Caribbean Sea. It com ...

in 1899. In 1904, he was chairman of the commission which investigated the case of Adolf Beck. RichardCollinsBrompton

He died at Hove,

East Sussex East Sussex is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Kent to the north-east, West Sussex to the west, Surrey to the north-west, and the English Channel to the south. The largest settlement ...

on 3 January 1911.

Family

His wife, Jane Ogle, Lady Collins (d. 1934), is buried in Brompton Cemetery. His younger son, Sir Stephen Henn-Collins, became a High Court judge.

Cases

*'' Sumpter v Hedges'' *'' Wilde v Queensbury'' *'' Chandler v Webster'' *'' Henderson v Arthur''

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Collins, Richard 1842 births 1911 deaths Alumni of Downing College, Cambridge Alumni of Trinity College Dublin Burials at Brompton Cemetery Knights Bachelor Law lords Masters of the Rolls Members of the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council Members of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom Queen's Bench Division judges 19th-century King's Counsel Scholars of Trinity College Dublin 19th-century English judges 20th-century English judges Lord justices of appeal Peers created by Edward VII Presidents of the Classical Association