Simon Greenleaf

author

Simon Greenleaf

1783–1853

A pioneering American jurist and legal scholar, he helped shape how evidence is studied and taught in the United States. He is especially remembered for his influential legal treatise and for his years at Harvard Law School.

1 Audiobook

An Examination of the Testimony of the Four Evangelists, by the Rules of Evidence Administered in Courts of Justice

An Examination of the Testimony of the Four Evangelists, by the Rules of Evidence Administered in Courts of Justice

by Simon Greenleaf

About the author

Born in Newburyport, Massachusetts, in 1783, Simon Greenleaf built a distinguished legal career in Maine before becoming one of the leading legal scholars of his time. He served as a reporter of decisions for the Maine Supreme Judicial Court and earned a reputation for careful, methodical legal thinking.

In 1833 he joined Harvard Law School, where he succeeded Justice Joseph Story in the Dane Professorship of Law. Greenleaf became widely known for A Treatise on the Law of Evidence, a major work that helped organize and clarify the rules of evidence for generations of lawyers and judges.

Beyond his courtroom and teaching legacy, Greenleaf was also interested in the historical examination of testimony and documents, a concern that fit naturally with his work on evidence. He died in 1853, but his name still carries weight in the history of American law and legal education.