Georgetown Law
Georgetown Law Library

English Legal History Research Guide

Contents of this guide include print, micro-media and Internet resources available to facilitate research in legal history at Georgetown Law.

Contents

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Biographies

Biographies and autobiographies are often excellent sources of historical information, and provide insight into the minds of those who are creating, interpreting and changing the law. Below are just a few examples of what is available in the Library. Check the guide to online databases for more biographical sources.

  • American Council of Learned Societies. Dictionary of American Biography. New York: Scribner's, 1980. E176 .D564 1980
  • Campbell, John C. The Lives of the Chief Justices of England. 6 vols. 3rd ed. New York: Cockcroft, 1874-1878. KD536 .C3 1874
    • There are several editions of this multi-volume set. Slightly different coverage of judicial biographies by Lord Campbell are listed below.
    • Available online through LLMC, HeinOnline, and the Making of Modern Law.
  • Campbell, John C. The Lives of the Chief Justices of England From the Norman Conquest Till the Death of Lord Tenterden. 5 vols. New York: E. Thompson Co., 1894-1899. KD536 .C3 1894
    • There are several editions of this multi-volume set. One set is in Special Collections.
    • Available online through the Making of Modern Law.
  • Campbell, John C. Lives of the Lord Chancellors and Keepers of the Great Seal of England: From the Earliest Times Till the Reign of King George IV. 10 vols. Reprint ed. of the 1868 ed. New York: AMS Press, 1973. KD620 .C34 1973
  • Duman, Daniel. The Judicial Bench in England, 1727-1875: The Reshaping of a Professional Elite. London: Royal Historical Society, 1982. KD7285 .D85 1982
  • Foss, Edward. A Biographical Dictionary of the Judges of England From the Conquest to the Present Time, 1066-1870. London: John Murray, 1870.
  • Foss, Edward. The Judges of England: With Sketches of Their Lives. 9 vols. London: Longman, Brown, Green and Longmans, 1848-1864. KD7285 .F67 1848
  • Matthew, H.G. & Brian Harrison, eds. Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. In Association With the British Academy. From the Earliest Times to the Year 2000. 60 vols. Oxford; New York: Oxford University Press, 2004. DA28 .O95 2004
    • Earlier editions are in the stacks, and an online version is available through Lauinger Library on main campus.
    • Available online.
  • Simpson, A.W.B. Biographical Dictionary of the Common Law. London: Butterworths, 1984.KD620 .B5 1984