Sir Arthur Wilson, (1837–1915) was an English lawyer and judge. After practising as a barrister in the English courts, he served as a judge of the

High Court of Calcutta The Calcutta High Court is the oldest High Court in India. It is located in B.B.D. Bagh, Kolkata, West Bengal. It has jurisdiction over the state of West Bengal and the Union Territory of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. The High Court build ...

, and was later a member of the

Judicial Committee of the Privy Council The Judicial Committee of the Privy Council (JCPC) is the highest court of appeal for the Crown Dependencies, the British Overseas Territories, some Commonwealth countries and a few institutions in the United Kingdom. Established on 14 Augus ...

Career

Wilson was called to the Bar by the

Inner Temple The Honourable Society of the Inner Temple, commonly known as the Inner Temple, is one of the four Inns of Court and is a professional associations for barristers and judges. To be called to the Bar and practise as a barrister in England and W ...

in 1862 and rapidly advanced in the profession. One judge of the English High Court, Lord Justice Mathew, said that Wilson would certainly have been raised to the bench in Britain, had he not accepted an appointment to the

in 1878 (at that time, known as the High Court of Judicature, Fort Williams, Bengal).''The Times'', 29 December 1915. In 1880, Wilson was elected Vice-Chancellor of the

University of Calcutta The University of Calcutta (informally known as Calcutta University; CU) is a public collegiate state university in India, located in Kolkata, West Bengal, India. Considered one of best state research university all over India every year, C ...

, a position he held until 1884. In 1888–89, Wilson was president of a Commission of Inquiry which sat at

Poona Pune (; ; also known as Poona, ( the official name from 1818 until 1978) is one of the most important industrial and educational hubs of India, with an estimated population of 7.4 million As of 2021, Pune Metropolitan Region is the largest i ...

, to investigate corruption allegations which had been made against Arthur Crawford, the Commissioner of the Central Division of the

Bombay Presidency The Bombay Presidency or Bombay Province, also called Bombay and Sind (1843–1936), was an administrative subdivision (province) of British India, with its capital in the city that came up over the seven islands of Bombay. The first mainl ...

. The lengthy hearings attracted considerable public attention in both India and Britain. After sixty-seven public sittings, the Commission found Crawford not guilty of the more serious charges of taking bribes, but guilty of borrowing money from his Indian subordinates. In 1892, Wilson resigned his position on the Calcutta High Court and returned to Britain. He was appointed Legal Adviser and Solicitor to the Indian Office, and in 1898 was appointed a Knight Commander of the

Order of the Indian Empire The Most Eminent Order of the Indian Empire is an order of chivalry founded by Queen Victoria on 1 January 1878. The Order includes members of three classes: #Knight Grand Commander ( GCIE) #Knight Commander ( KCIE) #Companion ( CIE) No app ...

(KCIE). In March 1902, Wilson was sworn a member of the Privy Council, and the following month took his place on the

, at that time the highest court for the Empire. By that time, he was physically weak, having trouble even walking across the room at committee meetings, but he retained his intellectual vigour. He sat on the Judicial Committee for nine years, retiring in 1911.''The Times'', 22 June 1911. Wilson died on 28 December 1915, at the Moorings, Heathside,

Woking Woking ( ) is a town and borough status in the United Kingdom, borough in northwest Surrey, England, around from central London. It appears in Domesday Book as ''Wochinges'' and its name probably derives from that of a Anglo-Saxon settlement o ...

Personal life

Wilson had a family of two sons and one daughter. Both sons were in the Army. One of them was drowned while crossing a river in India, and the other was killed campaigning in South Africa.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wilson, Arthur 1837 births 1915 deaths Members of the Inner Temple Members of the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council Judges of the Calcutta High Court Vice Chancellors of the University of Calcutta Knights Commander of the Order of the Indian Empire British India judges Members of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom