Sir Jonathan Frederick Pollock, 1st Baronet,
PC (23 September 1783 – 28 August 1870) was a British lawyer and
Tory
A Tory () is a person who holds a political philosophy known as Toryism, based on a British version of traditionalism and conservatism, which upholds the supremacy of social order as it has evolved in the English culture throughout history. The ...
politician.
Background and education
Pollock was the son of saddler
David Pollock, of
Charing Cross
Charing Cross ( ) is a junction in Westminster, London, England, where six routes meet. Clockwise from north these are: the east side of Trafalgar Square leading to St Martin's Place and then Charing Cross Road; the Strand leading to the City; ...
,
London
London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...
, and the elder brother of Field Marshal
Sir George Pollock, 1st Baronet
Field Marshal Sir George Pollock, 1st Baronet (4 June 1786 – 6 October 1872) was a British Indian Army officer. He first saw action at the Battle of Deeg and at the Siege of Bhurtpore during the Second Anglo-Maratha War before taking part ...
. An elder brother, Sir David Pollock, was a judge in India.
The Pollock family were a branch of that family of Balgray, Dumfriesshire; David Pollock's father was a burgess of Berwick-upon-Tweed, and his grandfather a yeoman of Durham. His business as a saddler was given the official custom of the royal family.
Sir John Pollock, 4th Baronet
Sir Frederick John Pollock, 4th Baronet (26 Dec 1878 – 22 July 1963) was an English historian, journalist and translator.
Life
John Pollock was the son of Sir Frederick Pollock, 3rd Baronet and Georgina Harriet Deffell, younger daughter of ...
, great-great-grandson of David Pollock, stated in Time's Chariot (1950) that David was, 'perhaps without knowing it', Pollock of Balgray, the senior line of the family (Pollock of Pollock or Pollock of that ilk) having died out.
Pollock was educated at
St Paul's School and
Trinity College, Cambridge
Trinity College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Founded in 1546 by King Henry VIII, Trinity is one of the largest Cambridge colleges, with the largest financial endowment of any college at either Cambridge or Oxford. ...
. He was
Senior Wrangler
The Senior Frog Wrangler is the top mathematics undergraduate at the University of Cambridge in England, a position which has been described as "the greatest intellectual achievement attainable in Britain."
Specifically, it is the person who ...
at
Cambridge University
, mottoeng = Literal: From here, light and sacred draughts.
Non literal: From this place, we gain enlightenment and precious knowledge.
, established =
, other_name = The Chancellor, Masters and Schola ...
. He is also thought to be one of the founding members of the
Cambridge Union Society
The Cambridge Union Society, also known as the Cambridge Union, is a Debate, debating and free speech society in Cambridge, England, and the largest society in the University of Cambridge. Founded in 1815, it is the oldest continuously running ...
, along with
Henry Bickersteth and
Sir Edward Hall Alderson, both of
Gonville and Caius College
Gonville and Caius College, often referred to simply as Caius ( ), is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1348, it is the fourth-oldest of the University of Cambridge's 31 colleges and one of t ...
.
Political, legal and mathematical careers
Pollock was
Member of Parliament
A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with Bicameralism, bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house ...
(MP) for
Huntingdon
Huntingdon is a market town in the Huntingdonshire district in Cambridgeshire, England. The town was given its town charter by King John in 1205. It was the county town of the historic county of Huntingdonshire. Oliver Cromwell was born there ...
from 1831 to 1844. He served as
Attorney General
In most common law jurisdictions, the attorney general or attorney-general (sometimes abbreviated AG or Atty.-Gen) is the main legal advisor to the government. The plural is attorneys general.
In some jurisdictions, attorneys general also have exec ...
between 1834 and 1835 and 1841 and 1844 in the
Tory
A Tory () is a person who holds a political philosophy known as Toryism, based on a British version of traditionalism and conservatism, which upholds the supremacy of social order as it has evolved in the English culture throughout history. The ...
administrations of
Sir Robert Peel
Sir Robert Peel, 2nd Baronet, (5 February 1788 – 2 July 1850) was a British Conservative statesman who served twice as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (1834–1835 and 1841–1846) simultaneously serving as Chancellor of the Exchequer ...
. In 1841 he was admitted to the
Privy Council and in 1844 he was appointed
Lord Chief Baron of the Exchequer
The Chief Baron of the Exchequer was the first "baron" (meaning judge) of the English Exchequer of Pleas. "In the absence of both the Treasurer of the Exchequer or First Lord of the Treasury, and the Chancellor of the Exchequer, it was he who ...
, a post he held until 1868. Having been
knighted on 29 December 1834, Pollock was created a Baronet, of
Hatton
Hatton may refer to:
Places Canada
* Hatton, Saskatchewan
England
* Hatton, Cheshire West and Chester, a former civil parish
* Hatton, Derbyshire
* Hatton, Lincolnshire
* Hatton, London, in the London Borough of Hounslow
* Hatton, Shropshire, a ...
in the
County of Middlesex
Middlesex (; abbreviation: Middx) is a historic county in southeast England. Its area is almost entirely within the wider urbanised area of London and mostly within the ceremonial county of Greater London, with small sections in neighbourin ...
, on 2 August 1866.
Apart from his political and legal career Pollock was elected a
Fellow of the Royal Society
Fellowship of the Royal Society (FRS, ForMemRS and HonFRS) is an award granted by the judges of the Royal Society of London to individuals who have made a "substantial contribution to the improvement of natural knowledge, including mathematic ...
in 1816. He contributed a number of papers in mathematics to the
Royal Society
The Royal Society, formally The Royal Society of London for Improving Natural Knowledge, is a learned society and the United Kingdom's national academy of sciences. The society fulfils a number of roles: promoting science and its benefits, r ...
, including one on what is now known as the
Pollock's conjecture Pollock's conjectures are two closely related unproven conjectures in additive number theory. They were first stated in 1850 by Sir Frederick Pollock, better known as a lawyer and politician, but also a contributor of papers on mathematics to the ...
.
Family
Pollock died in August 1870, aged 86, and was succeeded in the baronetcy by his eldest son,
William
William is a masculine given name of Norman French origin.Hanks, Hardcastle and Hodges, ''Oxford Dictionary of First Names'', Oxford University Press, 2nd edition, , p. 276. It became very popular in the English language after the Norman conq ...
, sometime
Queen's Remembrancer
The King's Remembrancer (or Queen's Remembrancer) is an ancient judicial post in the legal system of England and Wales. Since the Lord Chancellor no longer sits as a judge, the Remembrancer is the oldest judicial position in continual existence ...
. His fourth son,
Charles Edward Pollock
Sir Charles Edward Pollock, SL (31 October 1823 – 21 November 1897) was an English judge, one of the last Barons of the Court of the Exchequer and serjeants-at-law.
Life
He was the fourth son of Sir Jonathan Frederick Pollock, by his fir ...
, apprenticed to his father, had no university education. He became a law reporter then co-serving
Baron of the Court of Exchequer
The Barons of the Exchequer, or ''barones scaccarii'', were the judges of the English court known as the Exchequer of Pleas. The Barons consisted of a Chief Baron of the Exchequer and several puisne (''inferior'') barons. When Robert Shute was ap ...
, becoming the last in that appeal court. Another son,
George Frederick Pollock
George Frederick Pollock (1 June 1821 – 19 May 1915) was a British barrister and Master of the Supreme Court.
The third son of the judge Sir Frederick Pollock, 1st Baronet, George Frederick Pollock was called to the Bar in 1843, when his fathe ...
, was Master of the Supreme Court succeeded his eldest brother as
Queen's Remembrancer
The King's Remembrancer (or Queen's Remembrancer) is an ancient judicial post in the legal system of England and Wales. Since the Lord Chancellor no longer sits as a judge, the Remembrancer is the oldest judicial position in continual existence ...
.
Two of Pollock's grandsons became prominent lawyers:
Sir Frederick Pollock, 3rd Baronet
Sir Frederick Pollock, 3rd Baronet PC, FBA (10 December 1845 – 18 January 1937) was an English jurist best known for his ''History of English Law before the Time of Edward I'', written with F.W. Maitland, and his lifelong correspondence w ...
(d.1937), was Professor of Jurisprudence at the
University of Oxford
The University of Oxford is a collegiate research university in Oxford, England. There is evidence of teaching as early as 1096, making it the oldest university in the English-speaking world and the world's second-oldest university in contin ...
;
Ernest Pollock, 1st Viscount Hanworth
Ernest Murray Pollock, 1st Viscount Hanworth, KBE, PC (25 November 1861 – 22 October 1936), was a British Conservative politician, lawyer and judge. He served as Master of the Rolls from 1923 to 1935.
Background
Pollock was born in Wimbledo ...
(d.1936), served as
Master of the Rolls
The Keeper or Master of the Rolls and Records of the Chancery of England, known as the Master of the Rolls, is the President of the Civil Division of the Court of Appeal of England and Wales and Head of Civil Justice. As a judge, the Master of ...
.
References
External links
*
*
*
*
*
Descendants of Sir Frederick Pollock, 1st Bt.*
*
* Archives of Sir Frederick Pollock, 1st Barone
(Sir Jonathan Frederick Pollock and family fonds, R1358)are held at
Library and Archives Canada
Library and Archives Canada (LAC; french: Bibliothèque et Archives Canada) is the federal institution, tasked with acquiring, preserving, and providing accessibility to the documentary heritage of Canada. The national archive and library is t ...
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pollock, Sir Frederick, 1st Baronet
1783 births
1870 deaths
Baronets in the Baronetage of the United Kingdom
Attorneys General for England and Wales
Chief Barons of the Exchequer
Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for English constituencies
UK MPs 1831–1832
UK MPs 1832–1835
UK MPs 1835–1837
UK MPs 1837–1841
UK MPs 1841–1847
Fellows of the Royal Society
Alumni of Trinity College, Cambridge
Senior Wranglers
Members of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom
Members of the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council