Sir Fitzroy Edward Kelly (9 October 1796 – 18 September 1880) was anEnglishcommercial lawyer,Tory politician and judge. He was the lastChief Baron of the Exchequer.
Sir Fitzroy Kelly | |
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 | |
| Chief Baron of the Exchequer | |
| In office 16 July 1866 – 18 September 1880 | |
| Monarch | Victoria |
| Preceded by | Sir Frederick Pollock |
| Succeeded by | Office abolished |
| Attorney General for England and Wales | |
| In office 21 February 1858 – 11 June 1859 | |
| Prime Minister | The Earl of Derby |
| Preceded by | Sir Richard Bethell |
| Succeeded by | Sir Richard Bethell |
| Solicitor General for England and Wales | |
| In office 27 February 1852 – 17 December 1852 | |
| Prime Minister | The Earl of Derby |
| Preceded by | Sir William Wood |
| Succeeded by | Sir Richard Bethell |
| In office 17 July 1845 – 29 June 1846 | |
| Prime Minister | Sir Robert Peel |
| Preceded by | Sir Frederic Thesiger |
| Succeeded by | John Jervis |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1796-10-09)9 October 1796 London,England |
| Died | 18 September 1880(1880-09-18) (aged 83) Brighton, England |
| Political party | Tory |
| Spouse(s) | |
Background and education
editKelly was born inLondon, the son of Robert Hawke Kelly (died in or before 1807), a captain in theRoyal Navy. His mother was the novelistIsabella Kelly, daughter of Captain William Fordyce,Groom of the Privy Chamber toGeorge III. In 1824, he wascalled to the bar byLincoln's Inn, having already gained a reputation as a skilledspecial pleader.[1]
Career
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In 1834 Kelly was made aKing's Counsel, remarkably after only ten years' call. A strongTory, he was returned asMember of Parliament forIpswich in 1835, but was unseated on petition. In 1837 however he again became member for that town.[2] From 1843 to 1847 he was MP forCambridge,[3] and in 1852 was elected member forHarwich, but witha vacancy suddenly occurring inEast Suffolk, he preferred to contest that seat and was elected.[1]
Most of his legal cases were of a commercial nature, but one was one of the great criminal poisoning crimes of the early Victorian period. In March 1845 Kelly defendedJohn Tawell, the "Quaker murderer," was in fact no longer a member of the Quakers, though he did try to return to that group. Tawell had poisoned his mistress, Sarah Hart, and fled from Salt Hill inAylesbury by train. However, a description of Tawell was sent to London by electric telegraph, and he was captured. Kelly did the best he could for his client, but he was not accustomed to criminal defence. His argument that Sarah Hart had eaten too many apple pips and been poisoned by theprussic acid in the pips led to the nickname "Apple-pip," which followed Kelly for the rest of his life. Despite his endeavours, his client was found guilty and hanged.
Kelly wasSolicitor General in 1845 (when he wasknighted) and again from February to December 1852, during which time he was junior toAttorney GeneralSir Frederic Thesiger in theprosecution ofJohn Henry Newman forlibel, theAchilli trial.[citation needed]
In 1854, Kelly was appointed to theRoyal Commission for Consolidating the Statute Law, aroyal commission to consolidate existing statutes and enactments ofEnglish law.[4]
In 1858–1859 he was Attorney General inLord Derby'ssecond ministry. In 1866 he was raised to the bench as the lastChief Baron of the Exchequer and made a member of thePrivy Council, entitling him to sit on theJudicial Committee of the Privy Council.[1]
Kelly died atBrighton on 18 September 1880, aged 83.[2] He was buried on the western side ofHighgate Cemetery.
Arms
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See also
editReferences
edit- ^abcChisholm 1911.
- ^abAllen, C. J. W. (2004)"Kelly, Sir Fitzroy Edward (1796–1880)",Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press
- ^"The city of Cambridge: Parliamentary representation Pages 68-76 A History of the County of Cambridge and the Isle of Ely: Volume 3, the City and University of Cambridge".British History Online. Victoria County History, 1959. Retrieved26 December 2022.
- ^Ilbert, Courtenay (1901).Legislative methods and forms. Oxford:Clarendon Press. p. 57. Retrieved9 September 2024.
- ^Debrett's Illustrated House of Commons and Judicial Bench. 1867.
Bibliography
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This article incorporates text from a publication now in thepublic domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Kelly, Sir Fitzroy".Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 15 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 720.- Leigh Rayment's Historical List of MPs
- Foss, E. (2006) [1848–64].A Biographical Dictionary of the Judges of England: from the Conquest to the present time, 1066–1870.ISBN 1-4286-2959-9.
- Gowing, Richard (1875) 'Sir Fitzroy Kelly, Lord Chief Baron' in: Richard GowingPublic Men of Ipswich and East Suffolk. a series of personal sketches. Ipswich: Scopes; London: Grant & Co., 1875; pp. 71–78
External links
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Media related toFitzroy Edward Kelly at Wikimedia Commons- Hansard 1803–2005:contributions in Parliament by Sir Fitzroy Kelly
| Parliament of the United Kingdom | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Member of Parliament forIpswich 1835 With:Robert Adam Dundas | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Member of Parliament forIpswich 1838–1841 With:Thomas Milner Gibson 1838–1839; Thomas John Cochrane 1839–1841 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Member of Parliament forCambridge 1843–1847 With:John Manners-Sutton | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Member of Parliament forHarwich 1852 With:John Bagshaw | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Member of Parliament forEast Suffolk 1852–1866 With:Sir Edward Gooch, Bt 1852; John Henniker-Major, 1852–1866 | Succeeded by |
| Legal offices | ||
| Preceded by | Solicitor General for England and Wales 1845–1846 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Solicitor General for England and Wales 1852 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Attorney General for England and Wales 1858–1859 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Chief Baron of the Exchequer 1866–1880 | Office abolished |