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William Murray, 1st Earl of Mansfield
William Murray, 1st Earl of Mansfield, PC (2 March 1705 – 20 March 1793), was a British barrister, politician and judge best known for his reforms to English law. Born in Scone Palace, Perthshire into the Scottish nobility, he was educated in Perth before moving to London at the age of 13 to study at Westminster School. Accepted into Christ Church, Oxford, in May 1723, Mansfield graduated four years later and returned to London, where he was called to the Bar by Lincoln's Inn in November 1730 and quickly gained a reputation as an excellent barrister.
He became involved in British politics in 1742, beginning with his election to the House of Commons as a Member of Parliament for Boroughbridge and appointment as Solicitor General. In the absence of a strong Attorney General, Mansfield became the main spokesman for the government in the House of Commons, where he was noted for his "great powers of eloquence" and was described as "beyond comparison the best speaker". With the promotion of Sir Dudley Ryder to Lord Chief Justice in 1754, Mansfield became Attorney General and, when Ryder unexpectedly died several months later, he took his place as Chief Justice.
As the most powerful British jurist of the 18th century, Mansfield's decisions reflected the Age of Enlightenment and moved the country onto the path to abolishing slavery. He advanced commercial law in ways that helped establish Britain as world leader in industry, finance, and trade; modernised both English law and England's courts; rationalised the system for submitting motions, and reformed the way judgments were delivered to reduce expense for the parties. For his work in Carter v Boehm and Pillans v Van Mierop, Mansfield has been called the founder of English commercial law.
Mansfield is also known for his judgment in Somerset v Stewart where he held that slavery had no basis in common law and had never been established by positive law in England, and therefore was not binding in law. Though the judgement did not explicitly outlaw slavery in either England or British colonies, it played an important role in the early stages of the British abolitionist movement and inspired challenges to slavery on both sides of the Atlantic.
Murray was born on 2 March 1705, at Scone Palace in Perthshire, Scotland, the fourth son of David Murray, 5th Viscount of Stormont and his wife Margaret as one of eleven children. Both his parents were strong supporters of the Jacobite cause, and his older brother James followed the "Old Pretender" into exile; this left the family's finance relatively impoverished. The Jacobite sympathies of Murray's family were glossed over by contemporaries, who claimed that he had been educated at Lichfield Grammar School with many other members of the English judiciary. This was incorrect, as Murray was educated at Perth Grammar School, where he was taught Latin, English grammar, and essay writing skills. He later said that this gave him a great advantage at university, as those students educated in England had been taught Greek and Latin but not how to write properly in English. While at Perth Grammar School, it became apparent that Murray was particularly intelligent. In 1718, his father and older brother, James, decided to send him to Westminster School as James knew the Dean, Francis Atterbury. Thirteen-year-old Murray travelled alone with a pony given by his father, The distance from Perth to London was around 400 miles (640 km), and the journey took Murray 54 days. Murray flourished at Westminster and was made a King's Scholar on 21 May 1719.
After an examination in May 1723, Murray was accepted into Christ Church, Oxford, having scored higher in the examination than any other King's Scholar that year. He was admitted as a commoner on 15 June 1723, and matriculated on 18 June. The records say that he came from Bath rather than Perth, as the person recording the names of the new students was unable to understand his Scottish accent. His older brother, James, was an advocate in Scotland (the Scottish equivalent of a barrister in England), and his family decided that a career as a barrister was best for Murray. The Scottish Bar at the time was overcrowded, which made it difficult for a young barrister to build a reputation, yet qualifying for the English Bar was extremely expensive. Thanks to the patronage of Thomas Foley, 1st Baron Foley, who gave Murray £200 a year to live on, Murray could afford to study at the bar, and he became a member of Lincoln's Inn on 23 April 1724.
After George I died on 11 June 1727, Murray entered and won a competition to write a Latin poem titled "The Death of the King". His actions were seen as a show of support for the House of Hanover and the political status quo, something odd considering the strong Jacobite sympathies of his family. He probably did this because, having no private income, he wished to secure patronage to help him advance politically. Another entrant was William Pitt, who was a constant rival to Murray until Pitt's death in 1778. There is very little information about Murray's time at Oxford. It is known that he studied ancient and modern history, became fluent in French, and gained a good understanding of Roman Law. He also became fluent in Latin, translating Cicero's works into English and then back into Latin. He gained his Bachelor of Arts degree in 1727, and travelled to London to train as a barrister.
Murray married Lady Elizabeth Finch in 1738, youngest daughter of Daniel Finch, 2nd Earl of Nottingham, 7th Earl of Winchilsea and Anne Hatton. She had thirteen siblings and her dowry was £5000.
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William Murray, 1st Earl of Mansfield
William Murray, 1st Earl of Mansfield, PC (2 March 1705 – 20 March 1793), was a British barrister, politician and judge best known for his reforms to English law. Born in Scone Palace, Perthshire into the Scottish nobility, he was educated in Perth before moving to London at the age of 13 to study at Westminster School. Accepted into Christ Church, Oxford, in May 1723, Mansfield graduated four years later and returned to London, where he was called to the Bar by Lincoln's Inn in November 1730 and quickly gained a reputation as an excellent barrister.
He became involved in British politics in 1742, beginning with his election to the House of Commons as a Member of Parliament for Boroughbridge and appointment as Solicitor General. In the absence of a strong Attorney General, Mansfield became the main spokesman for the government in the House of Commons, where he was noted for his "great powers of eloquence" and was described as "beyond comparison the best speaker". With the promotion of Sir Dudley Ryder to Lord Chief Justice in 1754, Mansfield became Attorney General and, when Ryder unexpectedly died several months later, he took his place as Chief Justice.
As the most powerful British jurist of the 18th century, Mansfield's decisions reflected the Age of Enlightenment and moved the country onto the path to abolishing slavery. He advanced commercial law in ways that helped establish Britain as world leader in industry, finance, and trade; modernised both English law and England's courts; rationalised the system for submitting motions, and reformed the way judgments were delivered to reduce expense for the parties. For his work in Carter v Boehm and Pillans v Van Mierop, Mansfield has been called the founder of English commercial law.
Mansfield is also known for his judgment in Somerset v Stewart where he held that slavery had no basis in common law and had never been established by positive law in England, and therefore was not binding in law. Though the judgement did not explicitly outlaw slavery in either England or British colonies, it played an important role in the early stages of the British abolitionist movement and inspired challenges to slavery on both sides of the Atlantic.
Murray was born on 2 March 1705, at Scone Palace in Perthshire, Scotland, the fourth son of David Murray, 5th Viscount of Stormont and his wife Margaret as one of eleven children. Both his parents were strong supporters of the Jacobite cause, and his older brother James followed the "Old Pretender" into exile; this left the family's finance relatively impoverished. The Jacobite sympathies of Murray's family were glossed over by contemporaries, who claimed that he had been educated at Lichfield Grammar School with many other members of the English judiciary. This was incorrect, as Murray was educated at Perth Grammar School, where he was taught Latin, English grammar, and essay writing skills. He later said that this gave him a great advantage at university, as those students educated in England had been taught Greek and Latin but not how to write properly in English. While at Perth Grammar School, it became apparent that Murray was particularly intelligent. In 1718, his father and older brother, James, decided to send him to Westminster School as James knew the Dean, Francis Atterbury. Thirteen-year-old Murray travelled alone with a pony given by his father, The distance from Perth to London was around 400 miles (640 km), and the journey took Murray 54 days. Murray flourished at Westminster and was made a King's Scholar on 21 May 1719.
After an examination in May 1723, Murray was accepted into Christ Church, Oxford, having scored higher in the examination than any other King's Scholar that year. He was admitted as a commoner on 15 June 1723, and matriculated on 18 June. The records say that he came from Bath rather than Perth, as the person recording the names of the new students was unable to understand his Scottish accent. His older brother, James, was an advocate in Scotland (the Scottish equivalent of a barrister in England), and his family decided that a career as a barrister was best for Murray. The Scottish Bar at the time was overcrowded, which made it difficult for a young barrister to build a reputation, yet qualifying for the English Bar was extremely expensive. Thanks to the patronage of Thomas Foley, 1st Baron Foley, who gave Murray £200 a year to live on, Murray could afford to study at the bar, and he became a member of Lincoln's Inn on 23 April 1724.
After George I died on 11 June 1727, Murray entered and won a competition to write a Latin poem titled "The Death of the King". His actions were seen as a show of support for the House of Hanover and the political status quo, something odd considering the strong Jacobite sympathies of his family. He probably did this because, having no private income, he wished to secure patronage to help him advance politically. Another entrant was William Pitt, who was a constant rival to Murray until Pitt's death in 1778. There is very little information about Murray's time at Oxford. It is known that he studied ancient and modern history, became fluent in French, and gained a good understanding of Roman Law. He also became fluent in Latin, translating Cicero's works into English and then back into Latin. He gained his Bachelor of Arts degree in 1727, and travelled to London to train as a barrister.
Murray married Lady Elizabeth Finch in 1738, youngest daughter of Daniel Finch, 2nd Earl of Nottingham, 7th Earl of Winchilsea and Anne Hatton. She had thirteen siblings and her dowry was £5000.