Sir William Blackstone

1723–1780

Nationality: English

Historical Period: The 18th Century

Sir William Blackstone’s (1723-1780) four-volume Commentaries on the Laws of England assures him a place in history as one of the greatest scholars of English common law. Blackstone began his lectures on the common law in 1753. His Commentaries served as a primary instruction tool in England and America well into the nineteenth century and exerted a pronounced influence on the development of the American legal tradition.

• Author: BOLL 9: William Blackstone, “Of the Absolute Rights of Individuals” (1766)
• Author: Commentaries on the Laws of England in Four Books, 2 vols.