Gresham Professor of Law

The Professor of Law at Gresham College, London, gives free educational lectures to the general public. The college was founded for this purpose in 1596/7, when it appointed seven professors. (Years given as, say, 1596/7 refer to Old Style and New Style dates.) This has since increased to eight and in addition the college now has visiting professors. The Professor of Law is always appointed by the Mercers’ School Memorial Trust, which is administered by the Worshipful Company of Mercers.

Sir Geoffrey Nice QC, Gresham Professor of Law since 2012

1	Henry Mowtlowe	March 1596/7
2	Clement Corbet	May 1607
3	Thomas Eden	10 Nov 1613
4	Benjamin Thorneton	27 July 1640
5	Joshua Crosse	29 March 1644
6	Thomas Leonard	4 May 1649
7	John Bond	12 March 1649/50
8	Benjamin Thorneton	23 Oct 1660
9	Richard Pearson	8 Oct 1667
10	John Clarke[1]	9 August 1670
11	Roger Meredith	7 March 1672/3
12	Robert Briggs[2]	7 Feb 1686/7
13	John Cumyng	1 May 1719
14	William Mace	30 August 1744
15	Joseph Jeffries	20 May 1767
16	T Taylor	23 Jan 1784
17	William Jocelyn Palmer	14 Jan 1808
18	William Palmer[3]	5 Feb 1836
19	John Thomas Abdy	18 June 1858
20	George Holmes Blakesley[4]	23 April 1896
21	William Blake Odgers[5]	27 March 1907
22	Geoffrey Walter Wrangham	22 May 1925
23	William Arthian Davies	16 March 1934
1939-45 Lectures in abeyance
24	Eric Sachs	6 June 1946
25	Richard O'Sullivan	6 July 1950
26	Richard Jon Harvey	1962
27	R F V Heuston	1965
28	P. R. Glazebrook	1971
29	Clive M. Schmitthoff	1976–86?
30	Kenneth R. Simmonds	1988
31	Sir David Calcutt QC	1 Sept 1992
32	Simon Lee	1 Sept 1995
33	Gerald Wakefield	1 Sept 1998
34	Richard Susskind OBE	1 Sept 2000
35	Vernon Bogdanor FBA CBE	1 Sept 2004
36	Ruth Deech, Baroness Deech of Cumnor DBE	1 Sept 2008
37	Sir Geoffrey Nice QC[6]	2012

Vernon Bogdanor speaking on his book The New British Constitution in Blackwell’s bookshop, Oxford.

References

• Gresham College old website, Internet Archive List of professors

Notes

1. "Clark, John (CLRK642J)". A Cambridge Alumni Database. University of Cambridge.
2. "Briggs, Robert (BRGN717J)". A Cambridge Alumni Database. University of Cambridge.
3. "Palmer, William (PLMR832W)". A Cambridge Alumni Database. University of Cambridge.
4. "Blakesley, George Holmes (BLKY864GH)". A Cambridge Alumni Database. University of Cambridge.
5. "Odgers, William Blake (OGRS867WB)". A Cambridge Alumni Database. University of Cambridge.
6. "Gresham College Press Release, 3 July 2012".

Further reading

• Ward, John (1740). The Lives of the Professors of Gresham College. New York & London: Johnson Reprint Corporation.