Part of Gray's Inn Square The Honourable Society of Gray's Inn, commonly known simply as Gray's Inn , is one of the four Inns of Court in London. To be called to the Bar and practise as a barrister in England and Wales , an individual must belong to one of these Inns. The Inn has existed for over 600 years. Its members have included many noted lawyers and judges, such as Francis Bacon ,[ 1] Lord Slynn , Lord Bingham of Cornhill , Lord Hoffmann , Lord Pannick and others. Outside the Bar and judiciary of England and Wales, members have included the clergy (including five Archbishops of Canterbury ),[ 2] the industrialist John Wynne , the astronomer John Lee , media figures, such as Huw Thomas ,[ 3] and members of the Bar and judiciary of other nations, such as Yang Ti-liang (former Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Hong Kong ) and Aitzaz Ahsan (former president of the Supreme Court Bar Association of Pakistan ).[ 4] [ 5] As well as full members, the Inn also offers honorary membership to particularly distinguished members of society. During the Second World War , for example, both Franklin D. Roosevelt and Winston Churchill became honorary Benchers , and therefore members.[ 6] Other than honorary members, this list only contains those individuals who were called to the Bar, not those who simply joined but left before qualifying.
Call Name Noted for Notes 1540 Nicholas Barham Serjeant-at-Law who investigated and prosecuted the Ridolfi plot [ 7] 1583 Thomas Ashe legal writer and qualified barrister , although he never practised the law [ 8] 1585 Henry Finch legal writer [ 9] 1674 William Atwood Lawyer and writer [ 10] 1792 John Bell Considered the best equity barrister of his age, even though he could "neither read, write, walk, nor talk" [ 11] 1922 B. R. Ambedkar Indian polymath, jurist, economist, politician and social reformer and the father of the Indian Constitution [ 12] 1937 Jack Hamson legal writer and jurist of comparative and common law, President of the International Academy of Comparative Law [ 13] 1940 V.T. Thomas
Indian advocate, jurist and philanthropist. 1959 Christopher Bathurst English barrister with a successful practice who became a Queen's Counsel in 1978 before inheriting a hereditary peerage and joining the House of Lords [ 14] 1961 Samuel Eson Johnson Ecoma former Chief Judge of Cross River State, Nigeria. 1967 Aitzaz Ahsan Pakistani advocate, President of the Supreme Court Bar Association of Pakistan [ 4] 1967 Michael Mansfield King's Counsel and head of chambers at Nexus Chambers 1977 Francis Chang-Sam Seychelles advocate, former Registrar General of Seychelles and Attorney-General of Seychelles. He also headed the secretariat of the Constitution of the Third Republic of Seychelles. 1980 Noor Dean Fiji Indian lawyer and politician [ 15] 1988 Roger Tan Kor Mee Malaysian advocate & solicitor, former member of the Malaysian Bar Council and now a Water Commissioner of Malaysia.
Call Name Noted for Notes 1355 Robert Ashton Lord Chancellor of Ireland , Lord High Treasurer [ 59] 1515 Robert Aske Politician and rebel who led the Pilgrimage of Grace [ 60] 1524 Thomas Cromwell Chief minister to King Henry VIII of England from 1532 to 1540 [ 61] 1533 Nicholas Bacon Lord Keeper of the Great Seal [ 62] 1552 Christopher Yelverton Speaker of the House of Commons [ 63] 1554 Thomas Snagge Speaker of the British House of Commons and Attorney-General for Ireland [ 64] 1560 John Brograve Member of Parliament for Preston , Attorney General of the Duchy of Lancaster [ 65] 1565 Edward Bacon Member of Parliament for Great Yarmouth and Tavistock [ 66] 1582 Francis Bacon Politician and statesman who served as Lord Chancellor and Attorney General [ 67] 1617 Nathaniel Bacon Member of Parliament for Ipswich [ 68] 1631 John Cooke Solicitor General [ 69] 1644 Levinus Bennet Member of Parliament for Cambridgeshire [ 70] 1648 William Brodrick Member of the Sealed Knot , Surveyor General of Ireland, Member of Parliament for Dungarvan in the Irish House of Commons [ 71] 1658 William Williams Solicitor General and Speaker of the House of Commons [ 72] 1673 Thomas Allen Lord Mayor of the City of London [ 73] 1682 Alexander Pendarves Member of Parliament for Penryn , Saltash , Helston , and Launceston [ 74] 1718 Hugh Williams Member of Parliament for Anglesey [ 75] 1839 George Hammond Whalley Member of Parliament for Peterborough [ 76] 1871 William Bowen Rowlands Member of Parliament for Ceredigion 1885 Sidney Webb Member of Parliament for Seaham , President of the Board of Trade , Secretary of State for Dominion Affairs , Secretary of State for the Colonies , Co-founder London School of Economics 1894 F.E. Smith Lord Chancellor, Secretary of State for India [ 77] 1910 Khabeeruddin Ahmed Member Bengal Legislative Council [ 78] 1922 David Maxwell Fyfe Solicitor General, Attorney General, Lord Chancellor and Home Secretary [ 44] 1922 Hartley Shawcross Attorney General [ 79] 1923 Grantley Herbert Adams Premier of Barbados [ 80] 1924 Ba Maw Prime Minister of Burma [ 81] 1933 Leslie Goonewardene Sri Lankan independence activist and founder of the nation's first political party, the Lanka Sama Samaja Party . Also served in cabinet post. [ 82] 1935 Elwyn Jones Attorney General, Lord Chancellor [ 44] 1944 Emrys Roberts Member of Parliament for Merioneth [ 83] 1948 Noor Hassanali The first Indo-Trinidadian to hold the office of President of Trinidad and Tobago and was the first Muslim Head of State in the Americas [ 84] 1950 Glafcos Clerides Fourth President of the Republic of Cyprus [ 85] 1954 Spyros Kyprianou Second President of the Republic of Cyprus [ 85] 1954 Tassos Papadopoulos Fifth President of the Republic of Cyprus [ 85] 1959 John "Tom" Adams Premier of Barbados [ 86] 1959 Lalith Athulathmudali Sri Lankan Member of Parliament and Minister of Education [ 87] 1974 Roy Roebuck Member of Parliament 1975 Vera Baird Solicitor General for England and Wales [ 88]
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