Campbell, John, 1st Baron Campbell

Campbell, John, 1st Baron Campbell, 1779–1861, British jurist. He was a member of the Whig party in the House of Commons from 1830 and in the Lords from 1841. Ambitious legally rather than politically, he became attorney general (1834–41), lord chief justice (1850), and lord chancellor (1859). Campbell was associated with legal reforms in the areas of real estate and local government, but his role was that of organizing the investigating commissions and guiding the bills through Parliament. He was more directly responsible for the Libel Act (1843), the Copyright Act (1846), and the Obscene Publications Act (1857). He wrote Lives of the Lord Chancellors (1845–47) and Lives of the Chief Justices (1849–57).

The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, 6th ed. Copyright © 2007, Columbia University Press. All rights reserved.

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