Vicary Gibbs

Sir Vicary Gibbs PC KC (27 October 1751 – 8 February 1820) was an English judge and politician. He was known for his caustic wit, which won for him the sobriquet of "Vinegar Gibbs".

Gibbs was the first surviving son of George Abraham Gibbs, a surgeon and apothecary of Exeter, and his wife Anne Vicary. He attended Eton from 1764 until 1771 and obtained a BA at King's College, Cambridge. During this period, he was a devoted classical scholar, a King's Scholar at Eton and a Craven scholar at King's College.

He was a fellow of King's from 1774 until 1784, when he married Frances Cerjat Mackenzie, the sister of Lord Seaforth. This marked the end of his classical career, although he had as early as 1769 shown himself committed to the law by enrolment at Lincoln's Inn; nonetheless, he remained fond of classical literature and English drama throughout his life.

Gibbs's unpleasant voice, disagreeable temper, and jejune pedigree presented formidable handicaps at the start of his career. He initially employed himself as a special pleader, in which capacity he developed a good professional reputation, and was called to the bar in 1783. He proved successful, if acidulous, as an advocate, and powerful in marshaling evidence. He unsuccessfully defended William Winterbotham for sedition in 1793, but so impressed John Horne Tooke that he was retained as junior counsel to Erskine in the successful defence of Tooke and Hardy in autumn 1794. Gibbs' abilities were already being courted by the government, leading to his appointment as recorder of Bristol that February. His efforts during the trial of Tooke and Hardy impressed Sir John Scott, the prosecutor, and Gibbs took silk in December.

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