W. H. Lionel Cox
Sir William Henry Lionel Cox (c. 1844 – November 1921) was a British lawyer and judge. He served as Chief Justice of the Straits Settlements in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.[1]
Early life[edit]
Cox was born in about 1844 in Mauritius, the son of physician George B. Cox, and was educated at the Royal College,[2] Mauritius and the University of London. He was called to the Bar at the Middle Temple in 1866.[3]
Legal appointments[edit]
In 1880, Cox was appointed Substitute Procureur and Advocate General of Mauritius, and in August of that year Puisne Judge of the Supreme Court. In August 1886 he became Procureur and Advocate-General, which position he held until his elevation on 8 November 1893 to Chief Justice of the Straits Settlements
He was knighted in 1896.[4]
In 1896, Cox denied an application for a writ of habeas corpus to free Jose Rizal who was being transported on a Spanish warship back to the Philippines when the ship stopped in Singapore.[5]
Marriages[edit]
Cox married first, Lucy Pelte, of Mauritius, who died in 1900; and, secondly, in 1903 in Yokohama, Elizabeth Cushing Pughe, daughter of Lewis Pughe of Scranton, Pennsylvania.[6]
Retirement[edit]
Cox retired to England in 1906. In 1915, he was living in Guernsey and was almost blind.[7]
Death[edit]
Cox died in Guernsey in 1921. A special service was held in the Singapore Supreme Court to remember him.[8]
Street names[edit]
Lionel Cox Street in Curepipe, Mauritius and Cox Terrace in Fort Canning Park, Singapore are named after Cox.[9]
References[edit]
- ^ "Obituary: Sir Lionel Cox". The Times. 7 November 1921. p. 12.
- ^ There are two Royal Colleges in Mauritius, Royal College Curepipe and Royal College Port Louis. The sources do not specify which one Cox attended.
- ^ One Hundred Years of Singapore, p277 and University of London, the Calendar
- ^ Straits Times, 21 May 1896, p2 and Edinburgh Gazette 23 June 1896, p613
- ^ His Life, Works, and Role in the Philippine Revolution, p95
- ^ The Law Journal - Volume 56 - Page 410 and London and China Telegraph 27 April. 1903, p11
- ^ The Straits Times, 9 July 1915, Page 6
- ^ The Straits Times, 10 November 1921, Page 10
- ^ Singapore Street Names: A Study of Toponymics, p93