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Rt Hon John Inglis, Lord Glencorse FRSE DCL LLD (21 August 1810 – 20 August 1891) was a Scottish politician and judge. He was Lord President of the Court of Session (1867–1891).^[1]

Life

The youngest son of Maria Moxham Passmore and Rev John Inglis DD (1761–1834), minister of Old Greyfriars Kirk,^[2] Inglis was born on 21 August 1810 at 43 George Square^[3] in Edinburgh. He attended the High School in Edinburgh. He then studied law at the University of Glasgow from whence he went to Balliol College, Oxford. He graduated with a BA in 1834 and an MA in 1836.

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,^[4] 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.^[5] 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.^[4] He was made a Privy Counsellor in 1859, and awarded a Doctor of Civil Law (DCL) 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.^[4]

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

His Edinburgh address in later life was 30 Abercromby Place in Edinburgh's New Town.^[6]

He died at Loganbank, a villa in Glencorse^[7] south of Edinburgh on 20 August 1891, the day before his 81st birthday.^[1] He is buried in his family vault in New Calton Cemetery.

Family

In 1842 he married Isabella Mary Wood (1820–1855), daughter of Alexander Wood, Lord Wood FRSE (1788–1864),^[7] a judge and one of his senior colleagues. They had two sons, John David Inglis (1843–1861) and Harry Herbert Inglis WS (1848–1907).

He employed Rev Robert Keith Dick Horne as private tutor to his children.^[8] Horne was later minister of Corstorphine Old Parish Church in west Edinburgh.

Memorials

A memorial to Lord Glencorse (in the Jacobean style) stands in the south-east corner of St Giles Cathedral on the Royal Mile in Edinburgh, above the stairway from the church to the crypt, near the entrance to the Thistle Chapel.

A bust of Lord Glencorse, sculpted by Charles McBride, is held by the University of Edinburgh.^[9]

Notable cases

In 1857 Inglis defended Madeleine Smith in a sensational murder trial.^[1]
In 1865 Inglis presided over the case of the poisoner, Edward William Pritchard, the last person to be publicly hanged in Glasgow.

References

^ ^a ^b ^c John Inglis Lord Glencorse. University of Glasgow (see "summary" for birth/death dates)
^ Waterston, Charles D; Macmillan Shearer, A (July 2006). Former Fellows of the Royal Society of Edinburgh 1783–2002: Biographical Index (PDF). Vol. I. Edinburgh: The Royal Society of Edinburgh. ISBN 978-0-902198-84-5. Archived from the original (PDF) on 4 October 2006. Retrieved 27 December 2010.
^ Edinburgh and Leith Post Office Directory 1809–10
^ ^a ^b ^c One or more of the preceding sentences incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Glencorse, John Inglis, Lord". Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 12 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. pp. 119–120.
^ James Crabb Watt, John Inglis, Lord Justice-General of Scotland: A Memoir (1893), p. 333.
^ Edinburgh Post Office Directory 1874
^ ^a ^b Biographical Index of Former Fellows of the Royal Society of Edinburgh 1783–2002 (PDF). The Royal Society of Edinburgh. July 2006. ISBN 0-902-198-84-X. Archived from the original (PDF) on 24 January 2013. Retrieved 23 November 2016.
^ Fasti Ecclesistae Scotia p. 9
^ ""John Inglis, Lord Glencorse"".

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

External links

Works by or about John Inglis, Lord Glencorse at the Internet Archive
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 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

[uni-1] John Inglis Lord Glencorse. University of Glasgow (see "summary" for birth/death dates)

[Waterston-2] Waterston, Charles D; Macmillan Shearer, A (July 2006). Former Fellows of the Royal Society of Edinburgh 1783–2002: Biographical Index (PDF). Vol. I. Edinburgh: The Royal Society of Edinburgh. ISBN 978-0-902198-84-5. Archived from the original (PDF) on 4 October 2006. Retrieved 27 December 2010.

[3] Edinburgh and Leith Post Office Directory 1809–10

[EB1911-4] One or more of the preceding sentences incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Glencorse, John Inglis, Lord". Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 12 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. pp. 119–120.

[5] James Crabb Watt, John Inglis, Lord Justice-General of Scotland: A Memoir (1893), p. 333.

[6] Edinburgh Post Office Directory 1874

[auto-7] Biographical Index of Former Fellows of the Royal Society of Edinburgh 1783–2002 (PDF). The Royal Society of Edinburgh. July 2006. ISBN 0-902-198-84-X. Archived from the original (PDF) on 24 January 2013. Retrieved 23 November 2016.

[8] Fasti Ecclesistae Scotia p. 9

[9] ""John Inglis, Lord Glencorse"".

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