Samuel Edmund Thorne (October 14, 1907 – April 7, 1994) was an American legal historian. The editor of many English legal manuscripts, he is best known for his translation, with annotations, of ''

Bracton Henry of Bracton (c. 1210 – c. 1268), also known as Henry de Bracton, Henricus Bracton, Henry Bratton, and Henry Bretton, was an English people, English Catholic priest, cleric and jurist. He is famous now for his writings on law, particular ...

'''s ''De legibus et consuetudinibus Angliae'' (1968-1977), generally considered to be the definitive one.

Life and career

Thorne was educated at the

City College of New York The City College of the City University of New York (also known as the City College of New York, or simply City College or CCNY) is a Public university, public research university within the City University of New York (CUNY) system in New York ...

and

Harvard Law School Harvard Law School (HLS) is the law school of Harvard University, a Private university, private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1817, Harvard Law School is the oldest law school in continuous operation in the United ...

. He was librarian and professor at

Northwestern University School of Law The Northwestern University Pritzker School of Law (formerly known as Northwestern University School of Law from 1891 to 2015) is the law school of Northwestern University, a Private university, private research university. The law school is l ...

from 1934 to 1942, when he took a leave of absence to serve in the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the naval warfare, maritime military branch, service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest Displacement (ship), displacement, at 4.5 millio ...

as a cryptoanalyst, achieving the rank of lieutenant commander. After

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, Thorne joined

Yale Law School Yale Law School (YLS) is the law school of Yale University, a Private university, private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. It was established in 1824. The 2020–21 acceptance rate was 4%, the lowest of any law school in the United ...

as librarian in 1945. He was elected to the

American Academy of Arts and Sciences The American Academy of Arts and Sciences (The Academy) is one of the oldest learned societies in the United States. It was founded in 1780 during the American Revolution by John Adams, John Hancock, James Bowdoin, Andrew Oliver, and other ...

in 1956. That same year, Thorne joined

Harvard University Harvard University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the History of the Puritans in North America, Puritan clergyma ...

as Professor of Law and History, and retired in 1978. He was an elected member of the

American Philosophical Society The American Philosophical Society (APS) is an American scholarly organization and learned society founded in 1743 in Philadelphia that promotes knowledge in the humanities and natural sciences through research, professional meetings, publicat ...

. A

festschrift In academia, a ''Festschrift'' (; plural, ''Festschriften'' ) is a book honoring a respected person, especially an academic, and presented during their lifetime. It generally takes the form of an edited volume, containing contributions from the h ...

in his honor, ''On the Laws and Customs of England : Essays in Honor of Samuel E. Thorne'', was published in 1981.

Works

* ''Bracton, On the Laws and Customs of England'', 4 vol. (editor) (1968-1977) * ''Essays in English Legal History'' (1984)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Thorne, Samuel E. Northwestern University Pritzker School of Law faculty 1994 deaths American legal historians American legal scholars American librarians American medievalists City College of New York alumni Harvard Law School alumni Yale Law School faculty Harvard Law School faculty United States Navy officers American cryptographers 1907 births Fellows of the Medieval Academy of America Members of the American Philosophical Society Corresponding fellows of the British Academy