Sir William Blackstone was the son of a prosperous London tradesman. He received his education at Charterhouse and Pembroke College, Oxford; in 1744 he was elected a fellow of All Souls College, and in 1746 became a barrister. His practice of law being not very successful, Blackstone spent much of his time at the College. In 1783 he began to lecture on English law; his lectures were so well received that he was in 1758 named as the first Vinerian Professor. A few years later he was elected to the House of Commons. He became a judge of the Court of Common Pleas in 1770, a post he was not truly suited for.
Blackstone is most known for his Commentaries on the Laws of England, a text based on his lectures. The first of four volumes appeared in 1765; the last in 1769. The work became a standard law text that continued to be reprinted and referred to for more than a century. The text made the laws of England for the first time accessible to those outside the legal profession. Blackstone's Commentaries were quoted extensively in legal documents and court records throughout the nineteenth century and beyond.
Biography of the "Attorney-General"