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William Blackstone

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Attorney

The Resume

    (July 10, 1723-February 14, 1780)
    Born in United Kingdom
    English judge, lawyer, and professor
    Most well known for his Commentaries on the Laws of England
    The first full time law professor at an English college, his Commentaries started out as a lecture series

Why he might be annoying:

    He was a lawyer.
    He hated Catholics, considered them potential traitors, and didn't believe they deserved the full protection of the law.
    He did poorly as a lawyer in private practice, which led him to seek a teaching position.
    After he retired as a teacher he became a judge, didn't like it, and retired completely.
    Those who can do. Those who can't teach.
    Philosopher Jeremy Bentham and scientist Joseph Priestly were prominent critics of his.

Why he might not be annoying:

    He graduated from Oxford.
    He was known for being polite, well mannered, and humble.
    The US Constitution is based heavily on his Commentaries.
    The Commentaries have been an integral part of the legal curriculum in America and Great Britain for the past two hundred years.
    He wrote the first scholarly edition of the Magna Carta.
    The Commentaries were drawn from hundreds of years of history including Roman law, the Judeao Christian tradition, and the history of English common law.
    The Commentaries made the law available for the layperson in one place for the first time.
    The Commentaries are so beautifully written that they have been compared to the works of Shakespeare and the King James Version of the Bible as high points in the history of the English language.
    He was born several months after his father's death and lost his mother at age 12.

Credit: tom_jeffords


Featured in the following Annoying Collections:

Year In Review:

    In 2023, Out of 16 Votes: 43.75% Annoying
    In 2022, Out of 5 Votes: 20.0% Annoying
    In 2021, Out of 9 Votes: 77.78% Annoying
    In 2020, Out of 26 Votes: 96.15% Annoying
    In 2019, Out of 2 Votes: 50.0% Annoying
    In 2018, Out of 6 Votes: 33.33% Annoying
    In 2017, Out of 13 Votes: 53.85% Annoying
    In 2016, Out of 4 Votes: 50.0% Annoying
    In 2015, Out of 12 Votes: 50.0% Annoying
    In 2014, Out of 16 Votes: 50.0% Annoying
    In 2013, Out of 15 Votes: 53.33% Annoying
    In 2012, Out of 11 Votes: 72.73% Annoying
    In 2011, Out of 15 Votes: 60.0% Annoying
    In 2010, Out of 26 Votes: 50.0% Annoying
    In 2009, Out of 28 Votes: 60.71% Annoying