Sir Daniel Donne (or Dunn) (died 1617) was an English jurist.

Life

He was the son of Robert Donne and descended from John Dwnn of

Radnorshire Radnorshire () was Historic counties of Wales, one of the thirteen counties of Wales that existed from 1536 until their abolishment in 1974, later becoming a Districts of Wales, district of Powys from 1974 to 1996. It covered a sparsely populat ...

, was educated at

Oxford University 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 second-oldest continuously operating u ...

, where he was a member of

All Souls College All Souls College (official name: The College of All Souls of the Faithful Departed, of Oxford) is a constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. Unique to All Souls, all of its members automatically become fellows (i.e., full me ...

, and was admitted to the degree of B.C.L. 14 July 1572. Eight years later the higher degree was conferred on him, when he became Principal of New Inn Hall. He entered the College of Advocates 22 January 1582, and in 1598 was appointed Dean of Arches and master of requests. In the following year he sat with Sir Julius Caesar and others on two commissions which were appointed to inquire into the grievances of Danish and French fishermen and merchants respectively. In 1601 he ruled in favour of Sir Thomas Thynne whose secret marriage was disputed by his mother Joan Thynne. He was also a member of the commission formed in 1601 with the object of framing measures for the suppression of

piracy Piracy is an act of robbery or criminal violence by ship or boat-borne attackers upon another ship or a coastal area, typically with the goal of stealing cargo and valuable goods, or taking hostages. Those who conduct acts of piracy are call ...

by English sailors; and as

John Whitgift John Whitgift (c. 1530 – 29 February 1604) was the Archbishop of Canterbury from 1583 to his death. Noted for his hospitality, he was somewhat ostentatious in his habits, sometimes visiting Canterbury and other towns attended by a retinue of 8 ...

's vicar-general he sat with five bishops on special commissions at the provincial synod and at convocation. About this time he was made a master in chancery, and was one of nine civilians who drew up an argument in support of oaths ''ex officio'' in ecclesiastical courts. In 1602 he was appointed commissioner, together with Ralph Eure, 3rd Baron Eure and Sir John Herbert, to confer at

Bremen Bremen (Low German also: ''Breem'' or ''Bräm''), officially the City Municipality of Bremen (, ), is the capital of the States of Germany, German state of the Bremen (state), Free Hanseatic City of Bremen (), a two-city-state consisting of the c ...

with commissioners sent by the

King of Denmark The monarchy of Denmark is a constitutional political system, institution and a historic office of the Kingdom of Denmark. The Kingdom includes Denmark proper and the autonomous administrative division, autonomous territories of the Faroe Is ...

concerning the feasibility of a treaty which should put an end to the frequent quarrels between Danish and English fishermen. On the successful termination of this mission Donne was rewarded with a knighthood. Shortly after the accession of James I he was placed on a commission under the Archbishop of Canterbury to inquire into heresies and offences against the marriage laws in the

diocese of Winchester The Diocese of Winchester forms part of the Province of Canterbury of the Church of England. Founded in 660 AD, it is one of the older dioceses in England. It once covered the Kingdom of Wessex, many times its present size. Today it is most of th ...

, with powers of summary jurisdiction, and he also attended the conference held at

Hampton Court Hampton Court Palace is a Listed building, Grade I listed royal palace in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames, southwest and upstream of central London on the River Thames. Opened to the public, the palace is managed by Historic Royal ...

in reference to ecclesiastical courts. In the same year (1604), when the universities were empowered to send representatives to parliament, he was one of the first two elected by

, and he was reelected in 1614. A pension was in the following year granted to him by royal warrant. The last commission on which Donne sat was that appointed in 1616 to conduct an examination on the marriage of

Robert Carr, 1st Earl of Somerset Robert Carr, 1st Earl of Somerset (c. 158717 July 1645), was a politician, and favourite of King James VI and I. Background Robert Kerr was born in Wrington, Somerset, England, the younger son of Thomas Kerr of Ferniehirst, Sir Thomas Kerr ( ...

. Donne published nothing, but in ''Letters from the Bodleian Library'', 1813, ii. 207–21, is an account of William Aubrey, printed from a manuscript supposed to be in his writing. He had married one of Aubrey's six daughters, and had succeeded him in the headship of New Inn. He died 15 September 1617.

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Donne, Daniel Year of birth missing 1617 deaths English legal professionals Alumni of All Souls College, Oxford Principals of New Inn Hall, Oxford Members of the pre-1707 Parliament of England for the University of Oxford English MPs 1604–1611 English MPs 1614 Members of the Spanish Company