Hawkins, Biography, and the Law
Document Type
Contribution to Book
Source Publication
Life of Johnson
Publication Date
2011
Editor
Martine Watson Brownley
Publisher
Bucknell University Press
City
Lewisburg
First Page
137
Last Page
154
Department
English
Description
Sir John Hawkins was an attorney at the Court of King’s Bench and the Court of Common Pleas in the mid eighteenth century, and Chairman of the Middlesex Quarter Sessions. He was also the author of a major history of English music and the first greatLife of Samuel Johnson (1787). This essay explores ways in which Hawkins’ Life of Johnson is based in legal thought, especially with regard to his understanding of Johnson’s legacy to the former slave Francis Barber, and Johnson’s legal advocacy on behalf of the condemned clergyman William Dodd.
Recommended Citation
Clingham, Greg, "Hawkins, Biography, and the Law" (2011). Faculty Contributions to Books. 118.
https://digitalcommons.bucknell.edu/fac_books/118