Thomas Mackay Cooper, 1st Baron Cooper of Culross (24 September 1892 – 15 July 1956) was a Scottish Unionist Party politician, a judge and a historian, who had been appointed Lord Advocate of Scotland.

Background and education

Cooper was the son of John Cooper, of

Edinburgh Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian ...

, a civil engineer, and Margaret, daughter of John Mackay, of

Dunnet Dunnet is a village in Caithness, in the Highland area of Scotland. It is within the Parish of Dunnet. Village The village centres on the A836– B855 road junction. The A836 leads towards John o' Groats in the east and toward Thurso and ...

Caithness Caithness ( gd, Gallaibh ; sco, Caitnes; non, Katanes) is a historic county, registration county and lieutenancy area of Scotland. Caithness has a land boundary with the historic county of Sutherland to the west and is otherwise bounded ...

. In 1915 he applied to

George Watson's College George Watson's College is a co-educational independent day school in Scotland, situated on Colinton Road, in the Merchiston area of Edinburgh. It was first established as a hospital school in 1741, became a day school in 1871, and was m ...

, Edinburgh, and the

University of Edinburgh The University of Edinburgh ( sco, University o Edinburgh, gd, Oilthigh Dhùn Èideann; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in post-nominals) is a public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Granted a royal charter by King James VI in 1 ...

where he completed an MA in 1912 and a Law LLB.

Political, legal and judicial career

Cooper was admitted a member of the

Faculty of Advocates The Faculty of Advocates is an independent body of lawyers who have been admitted to practise as advocates before the courts of Scotland, especially the Court of Session and the High Court of Justiciary. The Faculty of Advocates is a constit ...

in 1915 and created a

King's Counsel In the United Kingdom and in some Commonwealth countries, a King's Counsel (post-nominal initials KC) during the reign of a king, or Queen's Counsel (post-nominal initials QC) during the reign of a queen, is a lawyer (usually a barrister or ...

in 1927. He was the Unionist

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 bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members o ...

(MP) for Edinburgh West from a by-election in 1935 to 1941. In 1935 he was appointed Solicitor General for Scotland and later that year he was appointed as

Lord Advocate His Majesty's Advocate, known as the Lord Advocate ( gd, Morair Tagraidh, sco, Laird Advocat), is the chief legal officer of the Scottish Government and the Crown in Scotland for both civil and criminal matters that fall within the devolved p ...

. He also became a

Privy Counsellor The Privy Council (PC), officially His Majesty's Most Honourable Privy Council, is a formal body of advisers to the sovereign of the United Kingdom. Its membership mainly comprises senior politicians who are current or former members of ei ...

in 1935. In 1941 he became

Lord Justice Clerk The Lord Justice Clerk is the second most senior judge in Scotland, after the Lord President of the Court of Session. Originally ''clericus justiciarie'' or Clerk to the Court of Justiciary, the counterpart in the criminal courts of the Lord ...

with the judicial title of Lord Cooper and in 1947

Lord Justice General Lord is an appellation for a person or deity who has authority, control, or power over others, acting as a master, chief, or ruler. The appellation can also denote certain persons who hold a title of the peerage in the United Kingdom, or are ...

and

Lord President of the Court of Session The Lord President of the Court of Session and Lord Justice General is the most senior judge in Scotland, the head of the judiciary, and the presiding judge of the College of Justice, the Court of Session, and the High Court of Justiciary. The L ...

. He resigned in 1954 and was made a peer as Baron Cooper of Culross, of Dunnet in the County of Caithness.

Personal life

Cooper was married to Margaret Mackay. He was elected a Fellow of the

Royal Society of Edinburgh The Royal Society of Edinburgh is Scotland's national academy of science and letters. It is a registered charity that operates on a wholly independent and non-partisan basis and provides public benefit throughout Scotland. It was established i ...

in 1936, his proposers being

John Alexander Inglis John Alexander Inglis of Auchendinny and Redhall FRSE KC LLB (1873 – 1941) was a Scottish landowner, advocate and historian. He specialised in family histories of Scotland’s gentry. Life He was born at Montpelier Lawn in Cheltenham in En ...

Thomas Henry Holland Sir Thomas Henry Holland (22 November 1868 – 15 May 1947) was a British geologist who worked in India with the Geological Survey of India, serving as its director from 1903 to 1910. He later worked as an educational administrator at Edi ...

Thomas Hudson Beare Sir Thomas Hudson Beare FRSE RSSA (30 June 1859 – 10 June 1940) was an eminent British engineer. He was successively Professor of Engineering at Heriot-Watt University, Edinburgh, at University College, London (where he was a colleague of ...

and

Ernest Wedderburn Sir Ernest MacLagan Wedderburn (3 February 1884 – 3 June 1958) was a Scottish lawyer, and a significant figure both in the civic life of Edinburgh and in the legal establishment. He held the posts of Professor of Conveyancing in the Univers ...

. He served as the society's vice president from 1945 to 1948.

Death

Lord Cooper of Culross died in July 1956, aged 62, at which point the barony became extinct. He is buried with his parents near the centre of the SW section of the original

Grange Cemetery The Grange (originally St Giles' Grange) is an affluent suburb of Edinburgh, just south of the city centre, with Morningside and Greenhill to the west, Newington to the east, The Meadows park and Marchmont to the north, and Blackford Hil ...

in south

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Cooper of Culross, Thomas Cooper, 1st Baron 1892 births 1956 deaths Alumni of the University of Edinburgh Lord Advocates Lords Justice Clerk Lords Justice-General Lords President of the Court of Session Members of the Faculty of Advocates Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for Edinburgh constituencies Members of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom Ministers in the Churchill wartime government, 1940–1945 People educated at George Watson's College 20th-century King's Counsel Scottish King's Counsel

Cooper Cooper, Cooper's, Coopers and similar may refer to: * Cooper (profession), a maker of wooden casks and other staved vessels Arts and entertainment * Cooper (producers), alias of Dutch producers Klubbheads * Cooper (video game character), in ...