Sir George Phillippo (1833 – 16 February 1914) was Chief Justice of Hong Kong in the late 19th century. He often attended the

Legislative Council of Hong Kong The Legislative Council of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, colloquially known as LegCo, is the Unicameralism, unicameral legislature of Hong Kong. It sits under People's Republic of China, China's "one country, two systems" c ...

sittings from around 1884 to 1888.

Early life and education

Phillippo was born in

Spanish Town Spanish Town (Jamaican Patois: Spain) is the capital and the largest town in the Parishes of Jamaica, parish of St. Catherine, Jamaica, St. Catherine in the historic county of Middlesex, Jamaica, Middlesex, Jamaica. It was the Spanish and Briti ...

, St Catherine's,

Jamaica Jamaica is an island country in the Caribbean Sea and the West Indies. At , it is the third-largest island—after Cuba and Hispaniola—of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean. Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, west of Hispaniola (the is ...

in 1833, the son of Rev.

James Phillippo James Phillippo (1798 in Norfolk, England – 11 May 1879, in Spanish Town, Jamaica) was an English Baptist missionary in Jamaica who campaigned for the abolition of slavery. He served in Jamaica from 1823 to his death, with some periods lobbyin ...

and Hannah Elizabeth Cecil. He went to school in

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

, trained as a

barrister A barrister is a type of lawyer in common law jurisdiction (area), jurisdictions. Barristers mostly specialise in courtroom advocacy and litigation. Their tasks include arguing cases in courts and tribunals, drafting legal pleadings, jurisprud ...

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 1862. He did not practise law in England at that time, but returned to Jamaica, where he married Mary Clark, the daughter of Rev. John Clark, a colleague of his father in 1862. Mary's sister Hannah was married to George's brother James.

Legal practice

In 1862 George was called to the

n Bar and, although he did practise law in

, within a few years he began an illustrious career with the British government and took up appointments in many parts of the world. His wife Mary died 16 April 1890. Later in 1890 he married Eliza Hughes, daughter of

Thomas Hughes Thomas Hughes (20 October 1822 – 22 March 1896) was an English lawyer, judge, politician and author. He is most famous for his novel ''Tom Brown's School Days'' (1857), a semi-autobiographical work set at Rugby School, which Hughes had atte ...

while in London. Some highlights of his career: *

Barrister-at-Law A barrister is a type of lawyer in common law jurisdictions. Barristers mostly specialise in courtroom advocacy and litigation. Their tasks include arguing cases in courts and tribunals, drafting legal pleadings, researching the law and giv ...

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 ...

, 1862 * Admitted to the Jamaica Bar, 1862 * Queen's Advocate,

Sierra Leone Sierra Leone, officially the Republic of Sierra Leone, is a country on the southwest coast of West Africa. It is bordered to the southeast by Liberia and by Guinea to the north. Sierra Leone's land area is . It has a tropical climate and envi ...

1868 * Commissioner then Attorney-General of British Columbia, 1870 * Member of the Legislative Council of the Colony of British Columbia, 1871 * Puisne Judge,

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 ...

, 1872 * Puisne Judge of

Straits Settlements The Straits Settlements () were a group of British territories located in Southeast Asia. Originally established in 1826 as part of the territories controlled by the British East India Company, the Straits Settlements came under control of the ...

, 1874–76 * Attorney General of Hong Kong, 1876–79 *

Chief Justice of Gibraltar The chief justice of the Supreme Court of Gibraltar is one of the four judges who make up the supreme court of Gibraltar. Previously the chief justice was appointed by the Governor of Gibraltar on the advice of the British Foreign and Commonweal ...

, 1879–82 * Knighted, 1882 * Chief Justice of Hong Kong, 1882–88 * Has

Perak Perak (; Perak Malay: ''Peghok'') is a States and federal territories of Malaysia, state of Malaysia on the west coast of the Malay Peninsula. Perak has land borders with the Malaysian states of Kedah to the north, Penang to the northwest, Kel ...

medal * Retired from the

Colonial Service The Colonial Service, also known as His/Her Majesty's Colonial Service and replaced in 1954 by Her Majesty's Overseas Civil Service (HMOCS), was the British government service that administered most of Britain's overseas possessions, under the aut ...

, 5 October 1888 * Returned to private law practice, 1888–97 * Appointed Her Majesty's Consul at

Geneva Geneva ( , ; ) ; ; . is the List of cities in Switzerland, second-most populous city in Switzerland and the most populous in French-speaking Romandy. Situated in the southwest of the country, where the Rhône exits Lake Geneva, it is the ca ...

, 1897

Retirement and death

He retired from Colonial Service as Chief Justice of Hong Kong on 5 October 1888. In 1897 he was appointed as the British High Consul in

Switzerland Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...

. After he retired from public life in 1910 he decided to remain in Geneva and it was there he died on 16 February 1914. His funeral was conducted at the English Church in Geneva.Hong Kong Telegraph, 14 February 1914

External links

Portraits of Phillipo's second wife, Eliza

References

* Burke's Peerage, 1906 * Minutes of the Vancouver Island Legislative Council, 1871 * Minutes of the Hong Kong and Territories Legislative Council 1882-88 {{DEFAULTSORT:Phillippo, George Chief justices of the Supreme Court of Hong Kong 1833 births 1914 deaths 19th-century Jamaican lawyers People from Spanish Town British Malaya lawyers Attorneys general of British Columbia Attorneys general of Hong Kong British diplomats British Hong Kong judges Place of birth missing Chief justices of Gibraltar Straits Settlements judges British Guiana judges British colonial attorneys general in the Americas Members of the Legislative Council of British Columbia Jamaican people of English descent 19th-century Gibraltarian judges