Sir James Parker (28 March 1803 – 1852) was a British barrister who became Vice Chancellor of the High Court. Parker was born in Glasgow, the son of Charles Stuart Parker and his wife Mary Rainey. He was educated at

Glasgow Grammar School The High School of Glasgow is an independent, co-educational day school in Glasgow, Scotland. The original High School of Glasgow was founded as the choir school of Glasgow Cathedral in around 1124, and is the oldest school in Scotland, and the ...

and

Trinity College, Cambridge Trinity College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Founded in 1546 by King Henry VIII, Trinity is one of the largest Cambridge colleges, with the largest financial endowment of any college at either Cambridge or Oxford. ...

, where he stood seventh wrangler in the Tripos in 1825. He contributed ''Arithmetic and Algebra'' in fours parts (1827–1830) to the Library of Useful Knowledge (authorship by a Mr. Parker, AM, is identified in an edition in 1847, and clinched, for example, in advertisements on 16 January and 17 July 1860 in ''Publishers' Circular and Bookseller's' Record'' ). In 1829, he was called to the bar at Lincoln's Inn and was an equity draftsman and conveyancer. He practiced on the Northern circuit and became

Queen'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 1844. Parker purchased the estate of

Rothley Temple Rothley Temple, or more correctly Rothley Preceptory, (pronounced ''Rowth-Ley'') was a preceptory (a religious establishment operated by certain orders of monastic knights) in the village of Rothley, Leicestershire, England, associated with bot ...

from his father-in-law

Thomas Babington Thomas Babington of Rothley Temple (; 18 December 1758 – 21 November 1837) was an English philanthropist and politician. He was a member of the Clapham Sect, alongside more famous abolitionists such as William Wilberforce and Hannah More. An ...

in 1845. Parker became a

Vice-Chancellor A chancellor is a leader of a college or university, usually either the executive or ceremonial head of the university or of a university campus within a university system. In most Commonwealth and former Commonwealth nations, the chancellor is ...

of the High Court in 1851 and received a knighthood. However he died the following year at the age of 49 from angina pectoris and was buried in the chapel at Rothley. Parker married Mary Babington, third daughter of Thomas Babington in 1829. Their daughter Susan Emma Parker married

Archibald Smith Archibald Smith of Jordanhill (10 August 1813, in Greenhead, North Lanarkshire – 26 December 1872, in London) was a Scots-born barrister and amateur mathematician. Early life and education He was the only son of James Smith FRSE (178 ...

and their son

James Parker James, Jim, and Jimmy Parker may refer to: Arts and entertainment *James Cutler Dunn Parker (1828–1916), American musician * James Ervan Parker (born 1942), American singer-songwriter *James Stewart Parker (1941–1988), English playwright an ...

was a successful rower. Parker was the uncle of

Charles Stuart Parker Charles Stuart Parker (1 June 1829 – 18 June 1910) was a British academic, writer and Liberal politician. Life Parker was the eldest son of Charles Stewart Parker (1800–1868), merchant, of Aigburth, Liverpool, and Fairlie, Ayrshire, and h ...

MP. An obituary notice appeared in the issue of ''Gentleman's Magazine'' for October, 1852.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Parker, James 1803 births 1852 deaths Alumni of Trinity College, Cambridge British barristers