Sir John Richard Quain (1816–1876) was an Irish barrister and judge in England.

Life

The youngest son of Richard Quain of Ratheahy,

County Cork County Cork () is the largest and the southernmost Counties of Ireland, county of Republic of Ireland, Ireland, named after the city of Cork (city), Cork, the state's second-largest city. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Munster ...

, by his second wife, Margaret, daughter of Andrew Mahoney, he was born at Ratheahy in 1816.

Jones Quain Jones Quain (pronounced "kwan") (November 1796 – 31 January 1865) was an Irish people, Irish anatomist, born at Mallow, County Cork, Mallow. Quain was Professor of Anatomy and Physiology in the University of London. He was author of ''Elements ...

and

Richard Quain Richard Quain may refer to: * Richard Quain (Irish physician) (1816–1898) * Richard Quain (English surgeon) (1800–1887), English anatomist and surgeon {{hndis, Quain, Richard ...

were his half-brothers, and the physician Sir

Richard Quain Richard Quain may refer to: * Richard Quain (Irish physician) (1816–1898) * Richard Quain (English surgeon) (1800–1887), English anatomist and surgeon {{hndis, Quain, Richard ...

was his cousin. He was educated at Göttingen, and at

University College, 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 won many prizes. In 1839 he graduated LL.B. at London, and was elected to the university law scholarship. He became a fellow of University College in 1843, and was for several years an examiner in law to the university of London. After reading in the chambers of Thomas Chitty, and practising as a special pleader for a time, he was

called to the bar The call to the bar is a legal term of art in most common law jurisdictions where persons must be qualified to be allowed to argue in court on behalf of another party and are then said to have been "called to the bar" or to have received "call to ...

at the

Middle Temple The Honourable Society of the Middle Temple, commonly known simply as Middle Temple, is one of the four Inns of Court entitled to Call to the bar, call their members to the English Bar as barristers, the others being the Inner Temple (with whi ...

on 30 May 1851. Joining the

Northern Circuit The Northern Circuit is a circuit of the General Council of the Bar and English judiciary. The Northern Circuit stretches from Carlisle in Cumberland at its northernmost point, running through Lakeland to the port of Whitehaven in the West, ...

, Quain obtained a considerable practice. In 1866 he became a

Queen's Counsel A King's Counsel (Post-nominal letters, post-nominal initials KC) is a senior lawyer appointed by the monarch (or their Viceroy, viceregal representative) of some Commonwealth realms as a "Counsel learned in the law". When the reigning monarc ...

, and in 1867 was made Attorney-General for the

county palatine of Durham The County Palatine of Durham was a jurisdiction in the North of England, within which the bishop of Durham had rights usually exclusive to the monarch. It developed from the Liberty of Durham, which emerged in the Anglo-Saxon period. The g ...

and a bencher of the Middle Temple. He was appointed a judge of the

Queen's Bench The King's Bench (), or, during the reign of a female monarch, the Queen's Bench ('), refers to several contemporary and historical courts in some Commonwealth jurisdictions. * Court of King's Bench (England), a historic court of common law in ...

in December 1871, was appointed serjeant and took his seat at the beginning of Hilary term 1872, and was knighted. His health failed early in 1876, and, after some months of intermittent illness, he died at his house, 32

Cavendish Square Cavendish Square is a public square, public garden square in Marylebone in the West End of London. It has a double-helix underground commercial car park. Its northern road forms ends of four streets: of Wigmore Street that runs to Portman Square ...

, London, on 12 September and was buried at

Finchley Finchley () is a large district of north London, England, in the London Borough of Barnet. north of Charing Cross, nearby districts include: Golders Green, Muswell Hill, Friern Barnet, Whetstone, London, Whetstone, Mill Hill and Hendon. It is ...

. He was unmarried. His law library was presented to

, by his brother Richard in 1876.

References

;Attribution {{DEFAULTSORT:Quain, John Richard 1816 births 1876 deaths Lawyers from County Cork Justices of the King's Bench Alumni of University College London Queen's Bench Division judges Knights Bachelor English King's Counsel Members of the Middle Temple 19th-century English judges Irish King's Counsel Alumni of the UCL Faculty of Laws