J. S. M. (John Samuel Martin) Fonblanque

Born in London in March 1787, he was the eldest son of the barrister and MP John Anthony Fonblanque. He was educated at Charterhouse and at Caius College, Cambridge, where he was associated with early student debating life before going on to the bar.

Fonblanque became known as a legal writer and later served as a Commissioner of Bankruptcy. He wrote on subjects including bankruptcy law and medical jurisprudence, and he also helped found The Jurist, a legal periodical that reflected his interest in law as a living public subject rather than a closed professional specialty.

He died in Brighton on November 3, 1865. Remembered mainly for his legal writing and public service, he belongs to that generation of nineteenth-century lawyers who turned specialist knowledge into books and institutions that lasted beyond their own careers.