William Edward Hall

William Edward Hall (22 August 1835 - 30 November 1894) was an English lawyer and mountaineer who published some influential works on international law.

Hall was the only child of William Hall, a doctor and descendant of a junior branch of the "Halls of Dunglass", and of Charlotte née Cotton.

He was born at Leatherhead, Surrey, but spent his childhood abroad, his father acting as physician to the King of Hanover, and subsequently to the British legation at Naples. Hence, perhaps, the son's taste in later life for art and modern languages. He was educated privately till, at the early age of seventeen, he matriculated at University College, Oxford, where in 1856 he took his degree with a first class in the then recently instituted school of law and history, gaining, three years afterwards, the Chancellor's prize for an essay upon the effect on Spain of the discovery of the precious metals in America.

In 1861, he was called to the bar at Lincoln's Inn, but devoted little time to any serious attempt to establish a legal practice. He was more interested in the study of Italian art, and in travelling Europe, always bringing home admirable water-colour drawings of buildings and scenery. He was an early and enthusiastic member of the Alpine Club, making several first ascents, notably that of the Lyskamm. He did however, exploit his legal profession in pursuit of his appetite for exploration in an expedition to South America to collect evidence on behalf of the Tichborne claimant, Arthur Orton.

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