William Osgoode

William Osgoode, judge (born March 1754 in London, England; died 17 January 1824 in London, England). Educated at Christ Church, Oxford, Osgoode was admitted to Lincoln's Inn in 1779. After some years of chancery practice, he took office in 1792 as the first chief justice of Upper Canada and two years later took up a similar post in Lower Canada. In 1801 he returned to England and lived the rest of his life as a country gentleman. He was a man of tranquil temperament who played an important mediating role during his time in Canada. He did not leave a strong judicial legacy but drafted much of the pioneering legislation. The law courts in Toronto and Canada's best-known law school are named after him (see Osgoode Hall).