William Murray, 1st Earl of Mansfield,, was a British barrister, politician and judge best known for his reforms to English law. Born in Scone Palace, Perthshire into the Scottish nobility, he was edu
Portrait of William Murray by Jean-Baptiste van Loo, 1737
Dido Elizabeth Belle and Lady Elizabeth Murray by David Martin, 1778. Dido Belle (left) and Lady Elizabeth Murray (right)
Lady Elizabeth Finch (Later Countess of Mansfield) (left) and her sister Lady Henrietta, Duchess of Cleveland (right).
Murray circa 1737; portrait by John Giles Eccardt assistant of Jean-Baptiste van Loo.
Somerset v Stewart
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Somerset v Stewart 98 ER 499 is a judgment of the English Court of King's Bench, relating to the right of a slave on English soil not to be forcibly removed from the country and sent to Jamaica for sa
William Murray, 1st Earl of Mansfield
…Carter v Boehm and Pillans v Van Mierop, Mansfield has been called the founder of English commercial law. Mansfield is also known for his judgment in Somerset v Stewart where he held that slavery had no basis in common law and had never been established by positive law in England, and therefore was not binding in law…
Portrait of William Murray by Jean-Baptiste van Loo, 1737. As Lord Mansfield he sat in judgement on the case