Russell Gurney, FRS (2 September 1804 – 31 May 1878) was an English lawyer and Conservative Party politician who sat in the

House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the Bicameralism, bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of ...

from 1865 to 1878.

Life

Gurney was born at Norwood, the son of Sir John Gurney, a

Baron of the Exchequer The Barons of the Exchequer, or ''barones scaccarii'', were the judges of the English court known as the Exchequer of Pleas. The Barons consisted of a Chief Baron of the Exchequer and several puisne (''inferior'') barons. When Robert Shute was ...

and his wife Maria Hawes daughter of William Hawes MD. He was educated at Dunham Norfolk under Mr Jowett and at

Trinity College, Cambridge Trinity College is a Colleges of the University of Cambridge, 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 ...

and 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

Inner Temple The Honourable Society of the Inner Temple, commonly known as the Inner Temple, is one of the four Inns of Court and is a professional association for barristers and judges. To be called to the Bar and practice as a barrister in England and Wa ...

, of which became a bencher in November 1828. In 1845 he was made 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 1856 was elected

Recorder of London The recorder of London is an ancient legal office in the City of London. The recorder of London is the senior circuit judge at the Central Criminal Court (the Old Bailey), hearing trials of criminal offences. The recorder is appointed by the Cr ...

. He occasionally acted as Judge of Assize, and went the Western, Oxford, Northern, and North Wales circuits. He was a Commissioner of the Jamaica Rebellion inquiry and was sworn a member of the Privy Council in 1866, in recognition of his services. He was one of the Boundary Commissioners appointed by the

Representation of the People Act 1867 The Representation of the People Act 1867 ( 30 & 31 Vict. c. 102), known as the Reform Act 1867 or the Second Reform Act, is an act of the British Parliament that enfranchised part of the urban male working class in England and Wales for the f ...

. He was chairman of the Law Reversionary Interest Society, deputy chairman of the Law Fire Insurance Co., and a director of the Law Life Assurance Co. At the 1865 general election Gurney was elected as a Member of Parliament (MP) for

Southampton Southampton is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Hampshire, England. It is located approximately southwest of London, west of Portsmouth, and southeast of Salisbury. Southampton had a population of 253, ...

. He held the seat until his death at the age of 73 in 1878. In parliament he was in charge of several important measures including the bill to remove defects in the Administration of the Criminal Law of 1867, the Married Women's Property Act of 1870, the Public Prosecutor's Bill of 1871, the Public Worship Regulation Act of 1874 and the

UK Medical Act of 1876 The Medical Act 1876The citation of this Act by this short title was authorised by the Short Titles Act 1896, section 1 and the first schedule. Due to the repeal of those provisions it is now authorised by section 19(2) of the Interpretation A ...

(39 and 40 Vict, Ch. 41), an act which repealed the previous Medical Act in the United Kingdom and allowed all British medical authorities to license all qualified applicants whatever their gender. He was elected a

Fellow of the Royal Society Fellowship of the Royal Society (FRS, ForMemRS and HonFRS) is an award granted by the Fellows of the Royal Society of London to individuals who have made a "substantial contribution to the improvement of natural science, natural knowledge, incl ...

in 1875.

Family

Gurney married Emelia Batten (born 26 July 1823, died 1896), daughter of Rev. Ellis Batten, one of the masters of

Harrow School Harrow School () is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school (English boarding school for boys) in Harrow on the Hill, Greater London, England. The school was founded in 1572 by John Lyon (school founder), John Lyon, a local landowner an ...

in 1852. She was a member of the

Kensington Society The Kensington Society is a civic society for Kensington, London. It serves both as an individual membership organisation, with more than 700 members, and as an umbrella organisation for 33 affiliated residents' associations and conservation ...

and her correspondence was published.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Gurney, Russell 1804 births 1878 deaths Alumni of Trinity College, Cambridge Members of the Inner Temple Conservative Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for Southampton UK MPs 1865–1868 UK MPs 1868–1874 UK MPs 1874–1880 Fellows of the Royal Society Members of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom Recorders of London