Sir William Blackstone

Sir William Blackstone (1723-1780) was an eminent English jurist and judge, born in London, the son of a silk-mercer. He was fellow of Pembroke College, Oxford, and in 1746 called to the bar. He became first Vinerian professor of Law at Oxford, and had Jeremy Bentham for one of his pupils. Blackstone is the author of the well-known "Commentaries on the Laws of England," an authority on the subject and a work that has appeared in many editions.

Wisdom & Quotes

• It is better that ten guilty persons escape than one innocent suffer.

- Commentaries on the Laws of England

• The public good is in nothing more essentially interested than in the protection of every individual's private rights.

- Commentaries

Paul Henri Dietrich