A.W.B. (Brian) Simpson

 

The Blog was saddened to hear of the death on 10 January, 2011, of Brian Simpson, one of the leading historians of English law. Brian had a brilliant quirky mind and noticed the oddities and strangenesses that explain a lot and give a depth and perspective to legal historical studies. He also had the gift of being a very entertaining speaker to both small and large groups. His presentations at the British Legal History Conference are legendary. He was also a very humane and human man. There is a brief CV on the website  of the Michigan Law School, from which the above – very accurate – photo has been borrowed.

There is a curious glimpse of Brian in the funny and sad diaries of the late Kenneth Williams, which record a visit to Oxford and a lunch with Brian. The mind boggles at the thought of the conversation!