Hugh Cairns, 1st Earl Cairns

Hugh Cairns, 1st Earl Cairns

Hugh McCalmont Cairns, 1st Earl Cairns PC QC (born December 27, 1819 near Holywood , Ireland , † April 2, 1885 in Bournemouth , England ) was an Irish - British statesman.

Life

His father, a captain in the 47th Regiment of Foot , came from a family who immigrated to Ireland from Scotland around 1715 . Hugh Cairns was the second son and attended Belfast Academy and Trinity College . He graduated in 1838 and was inducted into the Middle Temple Bar in 1844 , having initially served at Lincoln's Inn .

In 1852 he was elected to the House of Commons for the constituency of Belfast and in 1856 he became Crown Attorney . In 1858 Cairns was promoted to Solicitor General for England and Wales and a Knight Bachelor . In 1866 he was appointed Attorney General for England and Wales by Edward Geoffrey Smith Stanley, 14th Earl of Derby .

In 1867 he was raised to the nobility as Baron Cairns . In 1868 and from 1874 to 1880 he was Lord Chancellor under Benjamin Disraeli .

On July 9, 1876, Thomas John Barnardo , whose charitable work Cairns had previously supported, opened a village girls' home in Barkingside , for which Lord Cairns had made twelve country houses available.

In 1878 Cairns was raised to Viscount Garmoyle and Earl Cairns . In 1856 he married Mary Harriet, the eldest daughter of John McNeill, with whom he had seven children. His son Arthur William Cairns inherited his title .

Individual evidence

1. ^ Powicke & Fryde: Handbook of British Chronology. Second Edition, London, 1961, p. 88

Web links

Commons : Hugh Cairns, 1st Earl Cairns  - collection of images, videos and audio files

• Sir Hugh Cairns at Hansard (English)

predecessor	Office	successor
New title created	Baron Cairns 1867-1885	Arthur William Cairns
New title created	Earl Cairns 1878-1885	Arthur William Cairns