Charles James Hargreave
Encyclopedia
Charles James Hargreave was an English
judge
and mathematician
.
, Leeds
, Yorkshire, in December 1820. He was educated at Bramham, near Leeds, and at University College, London, and took the degree of LL.B. with honours in the university of London. He passed some months in the office of a solicitor, and afterwards was the pupil of Richard James Greening, and then of Lewis Duval.
He was called to the bar at the Inner Temple
7 June 1844, and for some time assisted Jonathan Henry Christie as his draughtsman, but soon had an increasing business of his own. In 1843 he was appointed professor of jurisprudence
in University College, a position which he held until his move from London in 1849.
After the famine in Ireland
and the passing of the Encumbered Estates Act in 1849, a court of three commissioners, of which Hargreave was one, was appointed to sit in Dublin to receive applications for the sale of the estates. Hargreave received a salary of £2,000 a year. In August 1849 he took up his residence in Dublin, where for nine years he was occupied with official duties. The amount of work accomplished by the court during this period was large, with important part being reading in private of titles, statements, petitions, and affidavits. The applications being made ex parte, the rights of absent persons, infants and others, had to be protected by the commissioners themselves. The number of petitions filed from October 1849 to 31 August 1857 was 4,413. The lands sold on these petitions were conveyed to the purchasers by means of upwards of eight thousand deeds of conveyance. The gross amount produced by sales of estates was £25,190,389. Hargreave, in reply to a question put by a parliamentary committee, stated that "no mistake of consequence was ever made by the court".
On the Conservatives coming into power in 1858 a new measure for establishing the court in perpetuity, under the designation of Landed Estate Court, was passed, and of it Hargreave was appointed one of the judges, a position which he held to his death.
In 1851 he was made a bencher of his inn, master of the library 1865, reader 1866, and had he lived would have succeeded to the office of treasurer. In 1852 he was created a Q.C.
He was interested in the subject of a registry of indefeasible title
. He approved of Robert Torrens
's registry of titles as carried out in South Australia
, and when in 1844 Torrens, aided by a committee, formed a plan for establishing a registry of Irish titles, he wrote a lengthy criticism of the scheme in the form of a letter to H. D. Hutton, the secretary of the committee. He was then directed by the government to draw a bill for carrying out this object, and on 10 Aug. 1866, the Record of Title Act being established by 29 and 30 Vict. cap. xcix., he arranged to take charge of the judicial business arising out of this new jurisdiction, but was prevented by his last illness.
He died at Bray, near Dublin, 23 April 1866. He married, 3 September 1856, Sarah Hannah, eldest daughter of Thomas Noble of Leeds.
of the Royal Society
, and on 18 April 1844 he was elected a F.R.S. Other papers were: ‘General Methods in Analyses for the Resolution of Linear Equations in Finite Differences’ (ib. 1850, pp. 261–86); ‘On the Problem of Three Bodies’ (‘ Proceedings of the Royal Society,’ 1857–9, pp. 265–73); ‘Analytical Researches concerning Numbers’ (‘London and Edinburgh Philosophical Magazine,’ 1849, xxxv. 36–53); ‘On the Valuation of Life Contingencies’ (ib. 1853, v. 39–45); ‘Applications of the Calculus of Operations to Algebraic Expansions and Theorems’ (ib. 1853, vi. 351–63); ‘On the Law of Prime Numbers’ (ib. 1854, viii. 14–22); ‘Differential Equations of the First Order’ (ib. 1864, xxvii. 355–76).
The honorary degree of LL.D. was conferred on him by the University of Dublin
in 1852. In 1866 his attention was again drawn to a new method of solving algebraic equations, and he commenced an essay on this question.
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
judge
Judge
A judge is a person who presides over court proceedings, either alone or as part of a panel of judges. The powers, functions, method of appointment, discipline, and training of judges vary widely across different jurisdictions. The judge is supposed to conduct the trial impartially and in an open...
and mathematician
Mathematician
A mathematician is a person whose primary area of study is the field of mathematics. Mathematicians are concerned with quantity, structure, space, and change....
.
Life
The eldest son of James Hargreave, woollen manufacturer, he was born at WortleyWortley, West Yorkshire
Wortley is a district of Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. It begins one mile to the west of the city centre.In the 1086 Domesday Book it is mentioned as Wirtlei, also Wirtleie and Wrleia. Later it was known as Wirkelay until about 1700...
, Leeds
Leeds
Leeds is a city and metropolitan borough in West Yorkshire, England. In 2001 Leeds' main urban subdivision had a population of 443,247, while the entire city has a population of 798,800 , making it the 30th-most populous city in the European Union.Leeds is the cultural, financial and commercial...
, Yorkshire, in December 1820. He was educated at Bramham, near Leeds, and at University College, London, and took the degree of LL.B. with honours in the university of London. He passed some months in the office of a solicitor, and afterwards was the pupil of Richard James Greening, and then of Lewis Duval.
He was called to the bar at the Inner Temple
Inner Temple
The Honourable Society of the Inner Temple, commonly known as Inner Temple, is one of the four Inns of Court in London. To be called to the Bar and practise as a barrister in England and Wales, an individual must belong to one of these Inns...
7 June 1844, and for some time assisted Jonathan Henry Christie as his draughtsman, but soon had an increasing business of his own. In 1843 he was appointed professor of jurisprudence
Jurisprudence
Jurisprudence is the theory and philosophy of law. Scholars of jurisprudence, or legal theorists , hope to obtain a deeper understanding of the nature of law, of legal reasoning, legal systems and of legal institutions...
in University College, a position which he held until his move from London in 1849.
After the famine in Ireland
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
and the passing of the Encumbered Estates Act in 1849, a court of three commissioners, of which Hargreave was one, was appointed to sit in Dublin to receive applications for the sale of the estates. Hargreave received a salary of £2,000 a year. In August 1849 he took up his residence in Dublin, where for nine years he was occupied with official duties. The amount of work accomplished by the court during this period was large, with important part being reading in private of titles, statements, petitions, and affidavits. The applications being made ex parte, the rights of absent persons, infants and others, had to be protected by the commissioners themselves. The number of petitions filed from October 1849 to 31 August 1857 was 4,413. The lands sold on these petitions were conveyed to the purchasers by means of upwards of eight thousand deeds of conveyance. The gross amount produced by sales of estates was £25,190,389. Hargreave, in reply to a question put by a parliamentary committee, stated that "no mistake of consequence was ever made by the court".
On the Conservatives coming into power in 1858 a new measure for establishing the court in perpetuity, under the designation of Landed Estate Court, was passed, and of it Hargreave was appointed one of the judges, a position which he held to his death.
In 1851 he was made a bencher of his inn, master of the library 1865, reader 1866, and had he lived would have succeeded to the office of treasurer. In 1852 he was created a Q.C.
He was interested in the subject of a registry of indefeasible title
Good title
Good title is a concept in property law.For a valid transaction to take place, the previous owner must have an indefeasible title to the property and must transfer it to the new owner...
. He approved of Robert Torrens
Robert Torrens
Sir Robert Richard Torrens, GCMG was the third Premier of South Australia and a pioneer and author of simplified system of transferring land.-Early life:...
's registry of titles as carried out in South Australia
South Australia
South Australia is a state of Australia in the southern central part of the country. It covers some of the most arid parts of the continent; with a total land area of , it is the fourth largest of Australia's six states and two territories.South Australia shares borders with all of the mainland...
, and when in 1844 Torrens, aided by a committee, formed a plan for establishing a registry of Irish titles, he wrote a lengthy criticism of the scheme in the form of a letter to H. D. Hutton, the secretary of the committee. He was then directed by the government to draw a bill for carrying out this object, and on 10 Aug. 1866, the Record of Title Act being established by 29 and 30 Vict. cap. xcix., he arranged to take charge of the judicial business arising out of this new jurisdiction, but was prevented by his last illness.
He died at Bray, near Dublin, 23 April 1866. He married, 3 September 1856, Sarah Hannah, eldest daughter of Thomas Noble of Leeds.
Works
His mathematical essays were numerous. One of the earliest, ‘On the Solution of Linear Differential Equations’ (‘Philosophical Transactions,’ 1848, pp. 31–54), in 1848 he obtained the Royal MedalRoyal Medal
The Royal Medal, also known as The Queen's Medal, is a silver-gilt medal awarded each year by the Royal Society, two for "the most important contributions to the advancement of natural knowledge" and one for "distinguished contributions in the applied sciences" made within the Commonwealth of...
of the Royal Society
Royal Society
The Royal Society of London for Improving Natural Knowledge, known simply as the Royal Society, is a learned society for science, and is possibly the oldest such society in existence. Founded in November 1660, it was granted a Royal Charter by King Charles II as the "Royal Society of London"...
, and on 18 April 1844 he was elected a F.R.S. Other papers were: ‘General Methods in Analyses for the Resolution of Linear Equations in Finite Differences’ (ib. 1850, pp. 261–86); ‘On the Problem of Three Bodies’ (‘ Proceedings of the Royal Society,’ 1857–9, pp. 265–73); ‘Analytical Researches concerning Numbers’ (‘London and Edinburgh Philosophical Magazine,’ 1849, xxxv. 36–53); ‘On the Valuation of Life Contingencies’ (ib. 1853, v. 39–45); ‘Applications of the Calculus of Operations to Algebraic Expansions and Theorems’ (ib. 1853, vi. 351–63); ‘On the Law of Prime Numbers’ (ib. 1854, viii. 14–22); ‘Differential Equations of the First Order’ (ib. 1864, xxvii. 355–76).
The honorary degree of LL.D. was conferred on him by the University of Dublin
University of Dublin
The University of Dublin , corporately designated the Chancellor, Doctors and Masters of the University of Dublin , located in Dublin, Ireland, was effectively founded when in 1592 Queen Elizabeth I issued a charter for Trinity College, Dublin, as "the mother of a university" – this date making it...
in 1852. In 1866 his attention was again drawn to a new method of solving algebraic equations, and he commenced an essay on this question.