English lawyer and law reformer Sir Samuel Romilly (1757- 1818) divided his time between the law and public service. He served as chancellor of Durham from 1805 to 1815 and was a member of Parliament beginning in 1806. A supporter of the social and political views of the Swiss Enlightenment philosopher Jean-Jacques Rousseau, Romilly devoted his life to advocating on behalf of the lower classes and worked to reform England's criminal law by abolishing capital punishment for minor crimes.

Inspired by French Ancestry

Born in London, England, on March 1, 1757, Romilly was the second son born to Peter and Margaret (Garnault) Romilly. Both of Romilly's parents hailed from French families whose members had fled France for England after the revocation of the Edict of Nantes by French King Louis XIV in 1685. The wealth of the Garnault family allowed Margaret Romilly and her family, now newly of London, to live in comfort while her...