John Bruce Norton (8 July 1815 – 13 July 1883) was a British barrister and educationist who served as the Advocate-General of the

Madras Presidency The Madras Presidency or Madras Province, officially called the Presidency of Fort St. George until 1937, was an administrative subdivision (province) of British India and later the Dominion of India. At its greatest extent, the presidency i ...

. He was the father of the barrister and Indian independence activist Eardley Norton.

Early life

John Bruce Norton was born in London in 1815, a son of the British soldier and lawyer John David Norton (1787–1843) who served as a judge of the

Supreme Court In most legal jurisdictions, a supreme court, also known as a court of last resort, apex court, high (or final) court of appeal, and court of final appeal, is the highest court within the hierarchy of courts. Broadly speaking, the decisions of ...

Madras Chennai, also known as Madras ( its official name until 1996), is the capital and largest city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost state of India. It is located on the Coromandel Coast of the Bay of Bengal. According to the 2011 Indian ce ...

in 1841–42. John Bruce Norton was educated at Harrow and

Merton College, Oxford Merton College (in full: The House or College of Scholars of Merton in the University of Oxford) is a Colleges of the University of Oxford, constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. Its foundation can be traced back to the 126 ...

, then in 1841 enrolled at

Lincoln's Inn The Honourable Society of Lincoln's Inn, commonly known as Lincoln's Inn, is one of the four Inns of Court (professional associations for Barrister, barristers and judges) in London. To be called to the bar in order to practise as a barrister ...

to read for the bar. Norton was an avid cricketer and played in the Harrow School Cricket Eleven during the 1832–33 season.Mr. Eardley Norton" (obituary), ''

The Times ''The Times'' is a British Newspaper#Daily, daily Newspaper#National, national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its modern name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its si ...

'' ondon 16 July 1931: 14. The Times Digital Archive. Web. 2 Apr. 2014

Career

In 1842 Norton moved with his father to India and commenced a legal practice in

. He was appointed Sheriff of Madras in 1843, serving until 1845, in which year he was appointed as Government Pleader, continuing in that post until 1862. In 1863 he was appointed as Advocate-General of Madras, serving until his retirement in 1871. He was also a member of the

Madras Legislative Council Tamil Nadu Legislative Council was the upper house of the former bicameral legislature of the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It began its existence as Madras Legislative Council, the first provincial legislature for Madras Presidency. It was initia ...

from 1862 to 1868.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Norton, John Bruce 1815 births 1883 deaths People educated at Harrow School Alumni of Merton College, Oxford Members of Lincoln's Inn Advocates general for Tamil Nadu Members of the Madras Legislative Council Sheriffs of Madras