born July 10, 1723, London, Eng.
died Feb. 14, 1780, Wallingford, Oxfordshire
British jurist.
Orphaned at age 12, he was educated at public school and later at Pembroke College, Oxford, at the expense of his uncle, a London surgeon. He was elected a fellow of All Souls College in 1744, and in 1746 he became a barrister . Having taken a doctorate in civil law in 1750, he abandoned his legal practice in 1753 to concentrate on teaching and legal work around Oxford. He gave the first university lectures on English common law , publishing a synopsis for students in 1756. He was elected to the first chair in common law, the Vinerian professorship at Oxford, in 1758. His classic Commentaries on the Laws of England (1765–69) is the best-known description of the doctrines of English law; it became the basis of university legal education in England and North America. He also served as a member of Parliament (1761–70), as solicitor general to the queen (from 1763), and as judge of the Court of Common Pleas (1770–80).