John Inglis, Lord Glencorse

For other people named John Inglis, see John Inglis (disambiguation).

File:John Inglis, Lord Glencorse.jpg

Lord President Inglis

File:Bust of John Inglis, Lord Glencorse, by Charles McBride, Old College, University of Edinburgh.jpg

Bust of John Inglis, Lord Glencorse, by Charles McBride, 1893, Old College, University of Edinburgh

File:Lord Glencorse's vault, New Calton Cemetery.JPG

Lord Glencorse's vault, New Calton Cemetery

John Inglis, Lord Glencorse FRSE (21 August 1810 – 20 August 1891) was a Scottish politician and judge. He was Lord President of the Court of Session (1867–1891).

Life

The youngest son of John Inglis, a Church of Scotland minister, Inglis was born in August 1810 in Edinburgh, where he attended the Royal High School. From the University of Glasgow he went to Balliol College, Oxford. He was admitted a member of the Faculty of Advocates in 1835, and in 1852 he was made Solicitor General for Scotland in Lord Derby's first ministry, three months later becoming Lord Advocate, a post he held from May to December of that year. In the summer of 1857, he famously served as counsel for Madeleine Smith, a Glasgow socialite who was the defendant in a sensational murder trial. Smith was freed with a verdict of "not proven".

In March 1858 he resumed this office in Lord Derby's second administration, being returned to the House of Commons as member for Stamford. Again his tenure was brief, leaving office in July 1858. He was responsible for the Universities (Scotland) Act 1858, and in the same year he was elevated to the bench as Lord Justice Clerk, with the judicial title Lord Glencorse. In 1867 he was made Lord Justice General of Scotland and Lord President of the Court of Session. He was made a Privy Counsellor in 1859, and awarded a Doctor of Civil Law by the University of Oxford in 1859.

Outside his judicial duties he was responsible for much useful public work, particularly in the department of higher education. In 1869 he was elected Chancellor of the University of Edinburgh against Gladstone, having already been Rector of the University of Aberdeen in 1857–1860 and Rector of the University of Glasgow in 1865.

He was President of Scottish Texts Society and published Historical Study of Law 1863.

He died in August 1891. He is buried in his family vault in New Calton Cemetery.

Memorials

A bust of Lord Glencorse, sculpted by Charles McBride, is held by Edinburgh University.

Notable cases

• In 1857 Inglis defended Madeleine Smith in a sensational murder trial.
• In 1865 Inglis presided over the case of Edward William Pritchard, the last person to be publicly hanged in Glasgow.

References

• This article includes material drawn from Concise Dictionary of National Biography, 1939

External links

• Hansard 1803–2005: contributions in Parliament by John Inglis

Parliament of the United Kingdom
Preceded by Sir Frederic Thesiger Lord Robert Cecil	Member of Parliament for Stamford March 1858 – July 1858 With: Lord Robert Cecil	Succeeded by Lord Robert Cecil Sir Stafford Northcote, Bt.
Legal offices
Preceded by George Deas	Solicitor General for Scotland 1852	Succeeded by Charles Neaves
Preceded by Adam Anderson	Lord Advocate May–December 1852	Succeeded by James Moncreiff
Preceded by James Moncreiff	Lord Advocate March–July 1858	Succeeded by Charles Baillie
Preceded by John Hope	Lord Justice Clerk 1858–1867	Succeeded by Lord Glenalmond
Preceded by Lord Colonsay	Lord Justice General 1867–1891	Succeeded by Lord Robertson
Academic offices
Preceded by Unknown	Rector of King's College, Aberdeen 1857 – ?	Succeeded by Unknown
Preceded by Viscount Palmerston	Rector of the University of Glasgow 1865–1868	Succeeded by Earl of Derby
Preceded by Baron Brougham and Vaux	Chancellor of the University of Edinburgh 1868–1891	Succeeded by Arthur Balfour