Sir Thomas Dickson Archibald (1817–1876) was judge of the

High Court of Justice The High Court of Justice in London, known properly as His Majesty's High Court of Justice in England, together with the Court of Appeal and the Crown Court, are the Senior Courts of England and Wales. Its name is abbreviated as EWHC (Englan ...

( Common Pleas Division) and lawyer from

Nova Scotia Nova Scotia ( ; ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is one of the three Maritime provinces and one of the four Atlantic provinces. Nova Scotia is Latin for "New Scotland". Most of the population are native En ...

. He served from 6 February 1875 until 1 November 1875.

Life

Archibald was born in 1817, the sixth son of nineteen children, to Samuel George Williams Archibald and Elizabeth Archibald. His grandfather was Charles Dickson of Onslow, Canada. Although he originally studied to be a surgeon at Pictou Presbyterian College, Archibald quickly switched to law and qualified as an attorney and barrister in 1837. Following his degree, he toured Europe and, in 1838, met his future wife, Sarah, in England. Her father, Richard Smith, a former Nova Scotian assembly manager, gave his consent to the marriage only if the couple agreed to stay in England. Sarah and Thomas had one son, Thomas, who died in 1867 of fever. In 1840, Archibald joined the

Middle Temple The Honourable Society of the Middle Temple, commonly known simply as Middle Temple, is one of the four Inns of Court exclusively entitled to call their members to the English Bar as barristers, the others being the Inner Temple, Gray's Inn ...

and was called to the bar on 30 January 1852. He originally practised law in the northern circuit but later switched to the home circuit. As an attorney Archibald was praised by Serjeant Petersdorff for his work on the

Common Law Abridgement Common may refer to: Places * Common, a townland in County Tyrone, Northern Ireland * Boston Common, a central public park in Boston, Massachusetts * Cambridge Common, common land area in Cambridge, Massachusetts * Clapham Common, originally ...

. In 1868, he was appointed junior counsel to the Treasury. In 1872, he was appointed to the Court of Queen's Bench and became a Sergeant-at-Law, succeeding Sir James Jannen. He became a

knight A knight is a person granted an honorary title of knighthood by a head of state (including the Pope) or representative for service to the monarch, the church or the country, especially in a military capacity. Knighthood finds origins in the G ...

on 5 February 1873 and the next day was transferred to the

Court of Common Pleas A court of common pleas is a common kind of court structure found in various common law jurisdictions. The form originated with the Court of Common Pleas at Westminster, which was created to permit individuals to press civil grievances against one ...

. In 1875, after the Court of Common Pleas was abolished, he became a Justice of the High Court.

Death

Archibald died on 18 October 1876 in his home in Hyde Park,

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Archibald, Thomas Dickson 1817 births 1876 deaths Justices of the Common Pleas Justices of the King's Bench Common Pleas Division judges Knights Bachelor Serjeants-at-law (England) Members of the Middle Temple Lawyers in Nova Scotia 19th-century English judges