Coleman Phillipson (25 April 1875? 1878? – 1958) was an English legal scholar and historian. He was Professor of Law at

University of Adelaide The University of Adelaide is a public university, public research university based in Adelaide, South Australia. Established in 1874, it is the third-oldest university in Australia. Its main campus in the Adelaide city centre includes many Sa ...

1919–1925.

History

Phillipson was born in

Leeds Leeds is a city in West Yorkshire, England. It is the largest settlement in Yorkshire and the administrative centre of the City of Leeds Metropolitan Borough, which is the second most populous district in the United Kingdom. It is built aro ...

, Yorkshire, England, the eldest son of Mr and Mrs S. Phillipson, both practising Jews. He was educated at the Central High School, Leeds, and Yorkshire College,

University of Leeds The University of Leeds is a public research university in Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. It was established in 1874 as the Yorkshire College of Science. In 1884, it merged with the Leeds School of Medicine (established 1831) and was renamed Y ...

, where he won prizes for

French French may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France ** French people, a nation and ethnic group ** French cuisine, cooking traditions and practices Arts and media * The French (band), ...

English literature English literature is literature written in the English language from the English-speaking world. The English language has developed over more than 1,400 years. The earliest forms of English, a set of Anglo-Frisian languages, Anglo-Frisian d ...

, theory of education, and debating. He secured a teaching position in a boarding school before embarking on Law studies at the

Victoria University of Manchester The Victoria University of Manchester, usually referred to as simply the University of Manchester, was a university in Manchester, England. It was founded in 1851 as Owens College. In 1880, the college joined the federal Victoria University. A ...

followed by the

University College of London University College London (Trade name, branded as UCL) is a Public university, public research university in London, England. It is a Member institutions of the University of London, member institution of the Federal university, federal Uni ...

, where he was Quain prizeman in Comparative Law 1906–1908. Around 1906 he had the degree of LL.D conferred on him (their first) by Victoria University, Manchester which in 1910 awarded him a D.Litt. consequent on his admission to 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 association for barristers and judges. To be called to the Bar and practice as a barrister in England and Wa ...

and publication of several books on international law. He practised for thirteen years in London, and held briefs from the Crown concerning points of Constitutional and International Law. During the Great War he confidential work for the War Cabinet, the Foreign Office, and the Admiralty. He was responsible for drawing up of various reports for the commission, on responsibility for the war and offences committed by the enemy. His compilation and analysis of such offences became a

Bluebook ''The Bluebook: A Uniform System of Citation'' is a style guide that prescribes the most widely used legal citation system in the United States. It is taught and used at a majority of Law school in the United States, law schools in the United S ...

. He assisted the British Crown Law department in formulating the Peace Treaty of 1919. Sir Frederick Smith, (later

Lord Chancellor The Lord Chancellor, formally titled Lord High Chancellor of Great Britain, is a senior minister of the Crown within the Government of the United Kingdom. The lord chancellor is the minister of justice for England and Wales and the highest-ra ...

) in a standard work, gave his opinion that "Professor Phillipson is one of the greatest living authorities on international law".

In Australia

In December 1919 the Registrar of the

( C. R. Hodge) announced that Phillipson had been appointed Professor of Law, a post made vacant by the resignation, due to ill health, of Dr Jethro Brown. He was appointed Dean of the

Faculty of Law A faculty is a division within a university or college comprising one subject area or a group of related subject areas, possibly also delimited by level (e.g. undergraduate). In North America, academic divisions are sometimes titled colleges, sc ...

in 1921. He gave many public lectures while in Adelaide, including: *"The Principles and Aims of the League of Nations" on 30 August 1920. *"The Teachings of Lao-Tse and His Message for the Present Time" on 6 October 1920 *"International Conferences" on 10 March 1921 *"Paris Peace Conference — Personal Reminiscences" on 12 May 1921 *"The League of Nations" 28 June 1921 *"How Treaties of Peace are Made" 24 August 1921 *"Dante" on 14 September 1921 (600th anniversary of his death) *"L'esprit Français et la poésie Française moderne." 14 July 1922 *"Plays in relation to life" 1 August 1922 *"Trial by Jury" 22 March 1923 *"The Profession of Politics" 2 May 1923 *"Crime and Punishment", a series delivered in September 1923 *"Wit and Humour" 21 May 1924 *"Art and Life" 24 August 1924 *"The conception of tragedy in dramatic literature." 12 May 1925 Phillipson resigned on 15 May 1925 after a series of attacks on his practice of giving private lessons to students who were falling behind in their grades, and rumors of

blackmail Blackmail is a criminal act of coercion using a threat. As a criminal offense, blackmail is defined in various ways in common law jurisdictions. In the United States, blackmail is generally defined as a crime of information, involving a thr ...

. The climax of the affair was a note pinned to his door:

Coleman Phillipson, Blackmailer. Get out, you dirty swine.

He also complained of lack of documentary resources for his research and the council's refusal to allow him to practise Law privately. The university gave him paid leave to the end of the year.

Family

Phillipson was a brother of Mrs. A. Charles of Mount Street south, Coogee, and Mrs. M. Goldstein, Mrs. Alfred Saunders, and Harry Phillipson, all of Melbourne, and Major Julian Higham Phillipson (20 November 1913 – ) of Western Australia. Other siblings were Maurice Phillipson of Leeds, and Mr. A. B. Phillipson who was an administrator in a province of India. Mrs Phillipson accompanied her husband to Australia, and while there took part in the Adelaide Repertory Society's production of

Israel Zangwill Israel Zangwill (21 January 18641 August 1926) was a British author at the forefront of Zionism during the 19th century, and was a close associate of Theodor Herzl. He later rejected the search for a Jewish homeland in Palestine and became the ...

's '' The Melting Pot'' as "Frau Quixano".

Publications

*''Studies in International Law'' 1908 *Effective War on Contracts'' 1909 (typo?) *''The International Law and Custom of Ancient Greece and Rome'' (two volumes) (1910) Macmillan *(with John Alderson Foote) ''Foreign and Domestic Law. A concise treatise on private international jurisprudence, based on the decisions in the English Courts'' (1914) Stevens & Haynes, London *''The International Law and Custom of Ancient Greece and Rome'' (1911) Macmillan and Co., London *''International Law and the Great War'' (1915) T. Fisher Unwin, Ltd, London *''Termination of War and Treaties of Peace'' (1916) E. P. Dutton & Co., New York; T. F. Unwin Ltd, London *''Wheaton's Elements of International Law'' 5th English ed., rev. throughout, considerably enl. and re-written (1916) Stevens and Sons, Ltd, London; Baker, Voorhis & Co., New York *(with

Noel Buxton Noel Edward Noel-Buxton, 1st Baron Noel-Buxton, (9 January 1869 – 12 September 1948), was a British Liberal and later Labour politician. He served as Minister of Agriculture and Fisheries under Ramsay MacDonald in 1924 and between 1929 an ...

) ''The Question of the Bosphorus and Dardanelles'' (1917) Stevens & Haynes, London *''Alsace-Lorraine — Past, Present, and Future'' (1918) T. F. Unwin, Ltd., London *(with

F. E. Smith, 1st Earl of Birkenhead Frederick Edwin Smith, 1st Earl of Birkenhead, (12 July 1872 – 30 September 1930) was a British Conservative politician and barrister who attained high office in the early 20th century, in particular as Lord High Chancellor of Great Britain ...

) ''International Law'' (1918) E. P. Dutton & Co., New York *(with Thomas Pitt Taswell-Langmead) ''English Constitutional History : from the Teutonic Conquest to the Present Time'' (1919) Houghton Mifflin, Boston also *''Mayne's Treatise on Damages'' *much of ''Great Jurists of the World'' (1913) *''Three Criminal Law Reformers'' (1920)

Notes and references

{{DEFAULTSORT:Phillipson, Coleman 1870s births 1958 deaths Academic staff of the University of Adelaide International law scholars Members of the Inner Temple Alumni of the University of Leeds English legal writers British expatriate academics Jewish historians