Algernon Sydney Biddle
Portrait by Cecilia Beaux
Born(1847-10-11)October 11, 1847
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
DiedApril 8, 1891(1891-04-08) (aged 43)
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
OccupationLaw professor
Parent(s)George Washington Biddle and Maria (McMurtie) Biddle
Relatives
Academic background
Alma materYale College
University of Berlin
Academic work
InstitutionsUniversity of Pennsylvania Law School
Main interestsEvidence and torts

Algernon Sydney Biddle (October 11, 1847 – April 8, 1891) was an American lawyer and law professor at the University of Pennsylvania Law School. An endowed chair was established at the University of Pennsylvania Law School in his name.

Biography

Biddle was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, to George Washington Biddle (a lawyer) and Maria (McMurtie) Biddle, their second child.[1][2][3] His siblings were George Biddle and Arthur Biddle.[2] His great-grandfather, Colonel Clement Biddle, was quartermaster in the army of George Washington during the American Revolutionary War.[2]

He graduated from Yale College in 1868.[1][3] Biddle then studied at the University of Berlin.[1] He was admitted to the Pennsylvania Bar in 1872.[1][3]

Biddle was a law professor at the University of Pennsylvania Law School from 1887 until his death, teaching evidence and torts.[1][4] In 1887 to 1888 he was one of the editors of the American Law Register.[1][3] He was also a member of the American Philosophical Society.[1]

The George Biddle and Algernon Sydney Biddle Memorial Library was established at the University of Pennsylvania Law School via a gift by George W. Biddle in his memory and in the memory of George Biddle.[5] In 1900 it had 23,000 books.[5] The law school contains a portrait of him by society portraitist Cecilia Beaux.[6]

An endowed chair was established at the University of Pennsylvania Law School in his name. Among the law professors who have held that chair are George Wharton Pepper, Francis Bohlen, Paul Bruton, George Haskins, and Curtis Reitz.[5][7][8][9]

Biddle married Frances Brown.[10] His children were Moncure (an investment banker), George (a muralist), Francis (who became both a corporate and public attorney, and was the primary US judge at the Nuremberg trials), and Sydney Geoffrey.[2][11][12] Biddle died in Philadelphia.[1]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h Chamberlain, Joshua Lawrence (1901). University of Pennsylvania: Its History, Influence, Equipment and Characteristics; with Biographical Sketches and Portraits of Founders, Benefactors, Officers and Alumni. R. Herndon Company. p. 403 – via Internet Archive. algernon sydney biddle.
  2. ^ a b c d Encyclopedia of Pennsylvania Biography: Illustrated. Lewis Historical Publishing Company. 1921 – via Google Books.
  3. ^ a b c d "University of Delaware: BIDDLE FAMILY PAPERS". www.lib.udel.edu.
  4. ^ Pederson, William D. (2009). The FDR Years. Infobase Publishing. ISBN 9780816074600 – via Google Books.
  5. ^ a b c Undergraduate Courses of Study Bulletin. University of Pennsylvania. 1900 – via Google Books.
  6. ^ Archambault, Anna Margaretta (1924). A Guide Book of Art, Architecture, and Historic Interests in Pennsylvania. Penn State Press. ISBN 0271046821 – via Google Books.
  7. ^ Undergraduate Courses of Study Bulletin. University of Pennsylvania. 1917 – via Google Books.
  8. ^ Makdisi, John (2017). Estates in Land and Future Interests: Problems and Answers. Wolters Kluwer Law & Business. ISBN 9781454897811 – via Google Books.
  9. ^ Directory of Law Teachers. West Publishing Company. 1982 – via Google Books.
  10. ^ Burke, Arthur Meredyth (1991). The Prominent Families of the United States of America. Genealogical Publishing Com. ISBN 9780806313085 – via Google Books.
  11. ^ Vile, John R. (2001). Great American Lawyers: An Encyclopedia. ABC-CLIO. ISBN 9781576072028 – via Google Books.
  12. ^ Cook, Bonnie L. (March 31, 2018). "Oliver Caldwell Biddle, 96, lawyer, author and member of prominent Philadelphia family". The Inquirer.

External links

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