- William Edward Hall
William Edward Hall (
August 22 ,1835 -November 30 ,1894 ) was an Englishlawyer andmountaineer who published some influential works oninternational law .Early life
Hall was the only child of William Hall, a doctor and descendant of a junior branch of the "Halls of
Dunglass ", and of Charlotte "née" Cotton. [Anon.] (1911)]He was born at
Leatherhead, Surrey , but spent his childhood abroad, his father acting as physician to theKing of Hanover , and subsequently to the Britishlegation atNaples . Hence, perhaps, the son's taste in later life forart andmodern languages . He was educated privately till, at the early age of seventeen, he matriculated atUniversity College, Oxford , where in 1856 he took his degree with a first class in the then recently instituted school of law and history, gaining, three years afterwards, theChancellor's prize for an essay upon the effect onSpain of the discovery of the precious metals in America.In 1861, he was
called to the bar atLincoln's Inn , but devoted little time to any serious attempt to establish a legal practice. He was more interested in the study ofItalian art , and in travellingEurope , always bringing home admirablewater-colour drawings of buildings and scenery. He was an early and enthusiastic member of theAlpine Club , making several first ascents, notably that of theLyskamm . He did however, exploit his legal profession in pursuit of his appetite for exploration in an expedition toSouth America to collect evidence on behalf of theTichborne claimant ,Arthur Orton .Military interests
He was always much interested in military matters, and was under fire, on the Danish side, in the
Second Schleswig War in 1864. In 1867 he published a pamphlet entitled "A Plan for the Reorganization of the Army", in which he advocatednational service . According to some, "He would undoubtedly have made his mark in the army" but was overwhelming attracted to life as a member of thelanded gentry . He realised the latter ambition, first atLlanfihangel Crucorney ,Monmouthshire , and then at Coker Court nearYeovil ,Somerset . By all accounts he became, "the English country gentleman, with cosmopolitan experiences, encyclopaedic knowledge, and artistic feeling."Holland (2004)]His travels took him to Lapland,
Egypt ,South America andIndia . He performed valuable service for several government offices, in 1871 as inspector of returns under theElementary Education Act 1870 , in 1877 by reports to theBoard of Trade onoyster fisheries, inFrance as well as in England. All the time, he was amassing materials for ambitious works on the history ofcivilization , and of theBritish empire .His principle fame rests on his work on internationa law. In 1874 he published a book on the doctrine of
neutrality , "Rights and Duties of Neutrals". He followed this in 1880 by his "magnum opus", the "Treatise on International Law". Seen by some as "unquestionably the best book upon the subject in the English language", the book was well planned and exact, using crisp English and avoiding some of the "rhetorical vagueness" of earlier works on the subject. In 1894 Hall published a book on, the "Foreign Jurisdictions of the British Crown".Private life
Hall married Imogen, daughter of
William Robert Grove in 1866. Imogen died in 1886 and in 1891 Hall Married Alice Hill. Hall had no children by either marriage. He died suddenly at Coker Court.Honours
*"
Institut de Droit International ":
**"Associ", (1875);
**"Membre", (1882).References
Bibliography
*1911----
* [Anon.] (1911) " [http://www.1911encyclopedia.org/William_Edward_Hall William Edward Hall] ", "Encyclopaedia Britannica "
*Butler, A. J. (1895) "In memoriam": William Edward Hall", "Alpine Journal", 17: 443-444
*Holland, T. E. (1895) "In memoriam", W. E. Hall", "Law Quarterly Review", 11:113-117
*— [1898] (2000) "Studies in International Law", London: Adamant Media Corporation, ISBN 1402199279, "p."302
*— (2004) " [http://www.oxforddnb.com/view/article/11997 Hall, William Edward (1835–1894)] ", rev. Catherine Pease-Watkin, "Oxford Dictionary of National Biography ", Oxford University Press, accessed 22 September 2007 ODNBsub
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