William Murray, 1st Earl of Mansfield,
SL,
PC (2 March 1705 – 20 March 1793) was a British
barrister, politician and judge noted for his reform of
English law. Born to Scottish nobility, he was educated in
Perth, Scotland, before moving to London at the age of 13 to take up a place at
Westminster School. He was accepted into
Christ Church, Oxford, in May 1723, and graduated four years later. Returning to London from Oxford, he was
called to the Bar by
Lincoln's Inn on 23 November 1730, and quickly gained a reputation as an excellent barrister.