William Murray, 1st Earl of Mansfield and Mansfield
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The Right Honourable The Earl of Mansfield PC SL |
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| Lord Chief Justice of the King's Bench | |
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In office 8 November 1756 – 4 June 1788 |
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| Prime Minister | The Duke of Newcastle |
| Preceded by | Sir Dudley Ryder |
| Succeeded by | Lord Kenyon |
| Lord Speaker | |
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In office February 1783 – 23 December 1783 |
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| Prime Minister | The Duke of Portland |
| Preceded by | The Earl of Hardwicke |
| Succeeded by | The Earl of Northington |
| Chancellor of the Exchequer | |
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In office 5 April 1757 – 8 April 1757 |
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| Prime Minister | The Duke of Newcastle |
| Preceded by | Henry Bilson Legge |
| Succeeded by | Henry Bilson Legge |
| Attorney General for England and Wales | |
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In office 6 March 1754 – 8 November 1756 |
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| Prime Minister | The Duke of Newcastle |
| Preceded by | Sir Dudley Ryder |
| Succeeded by | Sir Robert Henley |
| Solicitor General for England and Wales | |
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In office 15 December 1742 – 6 March 1754 |
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| Prime Minister | The Earl of Wilmington |
| Preceded by | Sir John Strange |
| Succeeded by | Sir Richard Lloyd |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
2 March 1705 Scone Palace, Perthshire, Scotland |
| Died | 20 March 1793 (aged 88) Kenwood House |
| Spouse(s) | Elizabeth Finch |
| Residence | Kenwood House |
| Alma mater | Christ Church, Oxford |
William Murray, 1st Earl of Mansfield, PC, SL (2 March 1705 – 20 March 1793) was a British barrister, politician and judge noted for his reform of English law. Born to Scottish nobility, he was educated in Perth, Scotland, before moving to London at the age of 13 to take up a place at Westminster School. He was accepted into Christ Church, Oxford, in May 1723, and graduated four years later. Returning to London from Oxford, he was called to the Bar by Lincoln's Inn on 23 November 1730, and quickly gained a reputation as an excellent barrister.
He became involved in politics in 1742, beginning with his election as a Member of Parliament for Boroughbridge, and appointment as Solicitor General. In the absence of a strong Attorney General, he became the main spokesman for the government in the House of Commons, and was noted for his "great powers of eloquence" and described as "beyond comparison the best speaker" in the House of Commons. With the promotion of Sir Dudley Ryder to Lord Chief Justice in 1754, he became Attorney General, and when Ryder unexpectedly died several months later, he took his place as Chief Justice.
The most powerful British jurist of the century, his decisions reflected the Age of Enlightenment and moved England on the path to abolishing slavery and the slave trade. He advanced commercial law in ways that helped establish the nation as the world leader in industry, finance and trade. He modernised both English law and the English courts system; he sped up the system for submitting motions and reformed the way judgments were given to reduce time and expense for the parties. For his work in Carter v Boehm and Pillans v Van Mierop, he has been called the founder of English commercial law. He is perhaps best known for his judgment in Somersett's Case (1772), where he held that slavery had no basis in common law and had never been established by positive law (legislation) in England, and therefore was not binding law (although this did not end slave trafficking altogether).
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