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William Alexander Hunter

1911 Encyclopedia Britannica

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WILLIAM ALEXANDER HUNTER (1844-1898), Scottish jurist and politician, was born in Aberdeen on the 8th of May 5844, and educated at Aberdeen grammar school and university. He entered the Middle Temple, and was called to the English bar in 1867, but then was occupied mainly with teaching. In 1869 he was appointed professor of Roman law at University College, London, and in 1878 professor of jurisprudence, resigning that chair in 1882. His name became well known during this period as the author of a standard work on Roman law, Roman Law in the Order of a Code, together with a smaller introductory volume for students, Introduction to Roman Law. After 1882 Hunter took up politics and was elected to parliament for Aberdeen as a Liberal in 1885. In the House of Commons he was a prominent supporter of Charles Bradlaugh; he was the first to advocate old age pensions, and in 1890 carried a proposal to free elementary education in Scotland. In 1895 his health broke down; he retired from parliament in 1896 and died on the 21st of July 1898.