4893 x 3760 px | 41,4 x 31,8 cm | 16,3 x 12,5 inches | 300dpi
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William Murray, 1st Earl of Mansfield commonly known as Lord Mansfield SL PC (2 March 1705 – 20 March 1793) was a British barrister, politician and judge. Born to Scottish nobility he was educated in Perth before moving to London at the age of 13 to take up a place at Westminster School. He was accepted into Christ Church, Oxford in May 1723 and graduated four years later. Returning to London from Oxford he was called to the Bar by Lincoln's Inn on 23 November 1730 and quickly gained a reputation as an excellent barrister. Murray became involved in politics in 1742 with his election as a Member of Parliament for Boroughbridge and appointment as Solicitor General. In the absence of a strong Attorney General he became the main spokesman for the government in the House of Commons, and was noted for his "great powers of eloquence" and described as "beyond comparison the best speaker" in the House of Commons. With the promotion of Dudley Ryder to Lord Chief Justice in 1754 Murray became Attorney General, and when Ryder unexpectedly died a few months later Murray took his place as Chief Justice. As Lord Chief Justice Murray modernised both English law and the English court system, speeding up the system for submitting motions and reforming the way judgements were given to reduce the cost in time and money for the parties. For his work in Carter v Boehm and Pillans v Van Mierop Murray has been called the founder of English commercial law. He is perhaps best known for his judgement in Somersett's Case, where he held that slavery was unlawful in England.
