Nicholas John Hannen

Sir Nicholas Hannen (24 August 1842 – 27 April 1900) was a British barrister, diplomat and judge who served in China and Japan. He was the Chief Justice of the British Supreme Court for China and Japan from 1891 to 1900 and also served concurrently as Consul-General in Shanghai from 1891 to 1897. He was judge of the British Court for Japan from 1881 to 1891. He was the brother of James Hannen, a noted British judge of the 19th century. His son, Nicholas "Beau" Hannen was a famous actor of the early and mid-20th century.

Hannen was born on 24 August 1842. He was the 6th son (and 13th child) of James Hannen of Kingswood, Dulwich. He was educated at the City of London School and University College London where he obtained a BA in 1862 with honours in logic and moral philosophy. He was called to the Bar at the Inner Temple in 1866. Soon after qualifying as a barrister, in 1868 Hannen moved to Shanghai to commence practice as a barrister. He married in 1869 to Jessie Woodhouse, the daughter of James Woodhouse of Henley-on-Thames.

Hannen held the following appointments in China and Japan:

From 1871 to 1874 he was appointed Acting Assistant Judge of the British Supreme Court for China and Japan and was based in Yokohama. Following this, he returned to Shanghai to private practice. In 1878 he was appointed Crown Advocate of the Supreme Court, a position akin to that of a colonial attorney general. The Crown Advocate was allowed to accept cases from private clients that did not affect their duties as Crown Advocate.

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