Sir Franklin Lushington (4 January 1823 – 10 November 1901) was a British barrister and judge. He was Chief Magistrate of the Metropolitan Police Courts in London from 1899 until his death, in succession to Sir John Bridge. A member of the Lushington family, Franklin Lushington was the son of Edmund Henry Lushington and the brother of Henry Lushington. He was a member of the Supreme Council of Justice of the United States of the Ionian Islands, serving until 1858. Appointed a metropolitan magistrate at the Thames Magistrates' Court in 1869, he was transferred to

Bow Street Magistrates' Court Bow Street Magistrates' Court (formerly Bow Street Magistrates' court (England and Wales), Police Court) and Police Station each became one of the most famous magistrates' court (England and Wales), magistrates' courts and police stations in Eng ...

in 1890. Franklin Lushington was a close friend of the writer

Edward Lear Edward Lear (12 May 1812 – 29 January 1888) was an English artist, illustrator, musician, author and poet, who is known mostly for his literary nonsense in poetry and prose and especially his limerick (poetry), limericks, a form he popularised. ...

, whom he met in

Malta Malta, officially the Republic of Malta, is an island country in Southern Europe located in the Mediterranean Sea, between Sicily and North Africa. It consists of an archipelago south of Italy, east of Tunisia, and north of Libya. The two ...

in 1849. They subsequently embarked on a tour of southern

Greece Greece, officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. Located on the southern tip of the Balkan peninsula, it shares land borders with Albania to the northwest, North Macedonia and Bulgaria to the north, and Turkey to th ...

together. Lear developed strong feelings for Lushington, but Lushington did not fully reciprocate these feelings. Despite this, they maintained their friendship for nearly four decades until Lear's death. The imbalance of their emotions constantly troubled Lear, and his attempts at forming intimate relationships with men were not always fruitful. The intensity of Lear's affections may have contributed to the difficulties he faced in sustaining these relationships.Susan Chitty (1989) ''That Singular Person Called Lear'', Atheneum, 1989

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lushington, Franklin Knights Bachelor 1901 deaths Members of the Inner Temple People educated at Rugby School Alumni of Trinity College, Cambridge 19th-century English judges United States of the Ionian Islands people 1823 births Stipendiary magistrates (England and Wales)