Sir William Blackstone

Robert Clark (The Literary Encyclopedia)

The Literary Encyclopedia. Volume 1.2.1.05: English Writing and Culture from the Glorious Revolution to the French Revolution, 1689-1789.
Vol. editors: Paul Baines (University of Liverpool), Daniel Cook (University of Dundee), Pat Rogers (University of South Florida), Nicholas Seager (University of Keele)

Dates

Born 10 Jul 1723
Died 14 Feb 1780
Activity 1765-1780

Places

Born in England
Active in England

Activities

Primary

Historian / Chronicler
Lawyer/ Barrister/ Solicitor

Resources

Blackstone's Works

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Sir William Blackstone is remembered for his

Commentaries on the Laws of England

which became the most influential legal treatise in Britain and North America for at least a century from its publication in 1765-69.

Blackstone was born in 1722, the son of a merchant. His mother was one of the Biggs of Wiltshire and Hampshire, a wealthy gentry family, a scion of which would later propose marriage to and be accepted by Jane Austen. He was educated at Charterhouse and Pembroke College, Oxford, then entered legal training in the Middle Temple in London in 1741. His election as a fellow of All Souls, Oxford, in 1743 divided his time between practicing law and giving his popular series of lectures on English law to undergraduates. At this time, the Regius Professor of Civil Law at Oxford focused

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232 words

Citation: Clark, Robert. "Sir William Blackstone". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 24 September 2007 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/speople.php?rec=true&UID=5115, accessed 23 November 2024.]