Sir Sidney Solomon Abrahams (11 February 1885 – 14 May 1957), nicknamed Solly, was a British barrister, judge, and Olympic athlete. He served as

Chief Justice of Ceylon The chief justice of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka is the head of the judiciary of Sri Lanka and the Supreme Court of Sri Lanka. Established in 1801, the chief justice is one of ten Supreme Court justices; the other nine are t ...

and as a member of the

Judicial Committee of the Privy Council The Judicial Committee of the Privy Council (JCPC) is the highest court of appeal for the Crown Dependencies, the British Overseas Territories, some Commonwealth countries and a few institutions in the United Kingdom. Established on 14 August ...

. He was the older brother of famed Olympian

Harold Abrahams Harold Maurice Abrahams (15 December 1899 – 14 January 1978) was an English track and field athlete. He was Olympic champion in 1924 in the 100 metres sprint, a feat depicted in the 1981 film '' Chariots of Fire''. Early life and educati ...

Early life

Born in

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands (county), West Midlands, within the wider West Midlands (region), West Midlands region, in England. It is the Lis ...

, England, Abrahams was educated at

Bedford Modern School Bedford Modern School (often called BMS or simply Modern) is a Headmasters' and Headmistresses' Conference independent school in Bedford, England. The school has its origins in Bedford Charity, The Harpur Trust, born from the financial endowme ...

and

Emmanuel College, Cambridge Emmanuel College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. The college was founded in 1584 by Sir Walter Mildmay, Chancellor of the Exchequer to Elizabeth I. The site on which the college sits was once a priory for Dominican mo ...

. He competed in athletics for

Cambridge University The University of Cambridge is a Public university, public collegiate university, collegiate research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209, the University of Cambridge is the List of oldest universities in continuous operation, wo ...

from 1904 to 1906. At the unofficial Olympiad, the 1906 '

Intercalated Games The 1906 Intercalated Games or 1906 Olympic Games (), held from 22 April 1906 to 2 May 1906, was an international multi-sport event that was celebrated in Athens, Kingdom of Greece. They were at the time considered to be Olympic Games and were re ...

' held in Athens, he finished fifth in the

long jump The long jump is a track and field event in which athletes combine speed, strength and agility in an attempt to leap as far as possible from a takeoff point. Along with the triple jump, the two events that measure jumping for distance as a gr ...

with 6.21 metres. Abrahams finished second behind Tim Ahearne in the long jump event at the 1909 AAA Championships. At the 1912

Stockholm Olympics The 1912 Summer Olympics (), officially known as the Games of the V Olympiad () and commonly known as Stockholm 1912, were an international multi-sport event held in Stockholm, Sweden, between 6 July and 22 July 1912. The opening ceremony was he ...

, he finished in twelfth place in the same event at 6.72 metres. At the 1913 AAA Championships in London, he won the long jump with 6.86 metres.

Career

He studied law 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 ...

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 ...

in 1909. He joined the Colonial Service and was Advocate General in Baghdad in 1920 and President of the Civil Courts in

Basra Basra () is a port city in Iraq, southern Iraq. It is the capital of the eponymous Basra Governorate, as well as the List of largest cities of Iraq, third largest city in Iraq overall, behind Baghdad and Mosul. Located near the Iran–Iraq bor ...

in 1921. After serving as Attorney General of Zanzibar (1922), Uganda (1925) and Gold Coast (1928), Abrahams was appointed Chief Justice of Uganda in 1933 and Chief Justice of Tanganyika in 1934. He then served as

from 1936 to 1939 and was knighted in 1936. The most celebrated case he presided over was that of the

Australian Australian(s) may refer to: Australia * Australia, a country * Australians, citizens of the Commonwealth of Australia ** European Australians ** Anglo-Celtic Australians, Australians descended principally from British colonists ** Aboriginal Aus ...

Mark Anthony Bracegirdle Mark Anthony Lyster Bracegirdle (10 September 1912 – 22 June 1999) was a British-born Australian Marxist revolutionary who played a key role in the Sri Lankan independence movement. He was one of the handful of European Radicals in Sri Lank ...

, whom the

Governor of British Ceylon The governor of Ceylon was the representative in British Ceylon, Ceylon of the British The Crown, Crown from 1795 to 1948. In this capacity, the governor was president of the Executive Council of Ceylon, Executive Council and Commander-in-Chief o ...

Sir Reginald Stubbs was attempting to have

deported Deportation is the expulsion of a person or group of people by a state from its Sovereignty, sovereign territory. The actual definition changes depending on the place and context, and it also changes over time. A person who has been deported or ...

; the court ruled against the Governor. He was the founder-president of the Medico-Legal Society of Ceylon. He was succeeded by John Curtois Howard, after the acting Francis Soertsz. He retired from the bench in 1939. In 1941, he was sworn in as a member of the Privy Council and served on the

. Sidney Abrahams chaired a Committee on the Administration of Justice in

Nigeria Nigeria, officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf of Guinea in the Atlantic Ocean to the south. It covers an area of . With Demographics of Nigeria, ...

. He was later Senior Legal Assistant to the

Commonwealth Relations Office The secretary of state for Commonwealth relations was a secretary of state in the Government of the United Kingdom, responsible for dealing with the United Kingdom's relations with members of the Commonwealth of Nations (its former colonies). The ...

. He played a major role in the suspension of the People's Progressive Party Government of

Cheddi Jagan Cheddi Berret Jagan ( ; 22 March 1918 – 6 March 1997) was a Guyanese politician and dentist who was first elected Chief Minister in 1953 and later Premier of British Guiana from 1961 to 1964. He later served as President of Guyana from 19 ...

British Guiana British Guiana was a British colony, part of the mainland British West Indies. It was located on the northern coast of South America. Since 1966 it has been known as the independent nation of Guyana. The first known Europeans to encounter Guia ...

(Guyana) in 1953. He was elected president of the

London Athletic Club London Athletic Club (LAC) is a track and field club based in London, England. It is the oldest independent track and field club in the world and celebrated its first 150 years in 2013.Barker, Philip (2013)"London Athletic club still going stro ...

. Abrahams was the first

Jew Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, religion, and community are highly inte ...

to hold the post. Abrahams was married to Ruth Bowman and they had two children, Valerie and

Anthony Abrahams Anthony Claud Walter Abrahams (16 June 1923 – 22 April 2011) was a British Jewish barrister and educationalist who established CfBT Education Trust, one of the most important educational charities to be founded in post-World War II Britain. H ...

References

External links

T. Perera, 'The Bracegirdle Saga: 60 Years After', ''What Next'', No 5 1997''Abrahams, Sidney 'Solly, Jews in Sport Online
{{DEFAULTSORT:Abrahams, Sidney 1885 births 1957 deaths People educated at Bedford Modern School Alumni of Emmanuel College, Cambridge Members of the Middle Temple English male long jumpers British male long jumpers Jewish track and field athletes Olympic athletes for Great Britain Athletes (track and field) at the 1906 Intercalated Games Athletes (track and field) at the 1912 Summer Olympics Chief justices of British Ceylon Chief justices of Tanzania 19th-century English sportsmen Knights Bachelor Athletes from Birmingham, West Midlands Uganda Protectorate judges Sportspeople from Gold Coast (British colony) Tanganyika (territory) judges Attorneys general of the Gold Coast (British colony) Attorneys general of the Uganda Protectorate Attorneys-general of the Sultanate of Zanzibar Members of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom English people of Polish-Jewish descent English people of Welsh descent Civil servants in the Commonwealth Relations Office Jewish English sportspeople Members of the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council

Early life

Career

See also

References

External links