John Curtois Howard

Sir John Howard KC
27th Chief Justice of Ceylon
In office 1 December 1939 – 1945
Appointed by	Andrew Caldecott
Preceded by	Sidney Abrahams Francis Soertsz as acting
Succeeded by	Arthur Wijewardena Francis Soertsz as acting
24th Attorney General of Ceylon
In office 27 July 1936 – 1936
Preceded by	Edward St. John Jackson
Succeeded by	John William Ronald Illangakoon
Attorney General of Cyprus
In office 1925–1926
Succeeded by	Charles Cyril Howard
Personal details
Born	John Curtois Howard 15 January 1887 Spalding, Lincolnshire, England[1]
Died	19 November 1970 (aged 83)[2] Eastbourne, Sussex, England[3]
Children	4

Sir John Curtois Howard KC (15 January 1887 – 19 November 1970) was an English magistrate who was the 27th Chief Justice of Ceylon. He was appointed in 1939 succeeding the acting Francis Soertsz and was Chief Justice until 1945. He was succeeded by Arthur Wijewardena, also after the acting Francis Soertsz.^[4][5]

Howard was born in Spalding, Lincolnshire, to FitzAlan Howard and Edith Thacker. He was educated at Uppingham School and Clare College, Cambridge. He was called to the bar a year before the First World War, and his career was interrupted by six years in the British Army.^[6]

After the war, he accepted a job in the Colonial Legal Service, serving as Attorney General of Cyprus,^[7] Solicitor-General of Nigeria and Attorney-General of the Gold Coast (now Ghana). In 1936, he was promoted to Legal Secretary, Ceylon. After returning to England, from 1953 to 1957, he was chairman of the Police Council for Great Britain. He was recalled by Sir William Fitzgerald as "a strikingly handsome man with a commanding presence."^[6]

Howard was knighted in the 1942 New Year Honours.^[8]

References

1. England & Wales, Civil Registration Birth Index, 1837-1915
2. "Sir John Howard". The Times. 20 November 1970. p. 14.
3. England & Wales, Civil Registration Death Index, 1916-2007
4. "Overview". Judicial Service Commission Secretariat. Archived from the original on 19 October 2013. Retrieved 19 October 2013.
5. "HOWARD, Sir John Curtois". Who's Who & Who Was Who. A & C Black. Retrieved 7 January 2013. (Subscription or UK public library membership required.)
6. "Obituary: Sir John Howard – Former Ceylon Chief Justice". The Times. 21 November 1970. p. 14.
7. Kyprianou, Despina (2009). The Role of the Cyprus Attorney General's Office in Prosecutions: Rhetoric, Ideology and Practice: Rhetoric, Ideology and Practice. Springer. p. 231. ISBN 9783642019210.
8. "No. 35455". The London Gazette. 13 February 1942. p. 715.

Legal offices
Preceded by Sidney Abrahams Francis Soertsz as acting	Chief Justice of Ceylon 1939-1945	Succeeded by Arthur Wijewardena Francis Soertsz as acting
Preceded by Edward St. John Jackson	Attorney General of Ceylon 1936	Succeeded by John William Ronald Illangakoon
Preceded by	Attorney General of Cyprus 1925-1926	Succeeded by Charles Cyril Howard