Thomas Graham (barrister)

Sir Thomas Lynedoch Graham KC (5 May 1860–7 May 1940) was a South African judge and politician.[1]

Sir Thomas Lynedoch Graham
Prime Minister of Cape Colony
Acting
In office
June – August 1902
MonarchEdward VII
GovernorWalter Hely-Hutchinson
Preceded byGordon Sprigg
Succeeded byGordon Sprigg
Colonial Secretary of Cape Colony
In office
1900–1902
Attorney-General of Cape Colony
In office
January – June 1898
Prime MinisterGordon Sprigg
Parliament of Cape Colony
In office
1904–1898
Judge President of the Eastern Districts Local Division of the Supreme Court of South Africa
In office
1913–1937
Personal details
Born5 May 1860
Grahamstown, Cape Colony, South Africa
Died7 May 1940(1940-05-07) (aged 80)
Cape Colony
NationalityBritish, South African
Political partyProgressive
Alma materSt. Andrew's College
Clare College, Cambridge
Occupationtennis player
Professionlawyer, judge
Tennis career
Turned pro1882 (amateur)
Retired1891
Singles
Career record1-0
Career titles1
Doubles
Career record0-1
Career titles1

Early life and education

Graham was born in Grahamstown, Cape Colony, which had been founded by his ancestor, Colonel John Graham, in 1812. He was educated at St Andrew's College, Grahamstown and Clare College, Cambridge and was called to the bar by the Inner Temple in 1885.[2]

Returning to South Africa, he became an advocate of the Supreme Court of Cape Colony. In 1898, he took silk and was elected to the Cape Colony Legislative Council, the Upper House of the Parliament of Cape Colony. Soon afterwards he was appointed Attorney-General in Sir Gordon Sprigg's third government. However, in June 1898 a vote of no confidence was passed in the government, which resigned.

Two years later, Sprigg was back in government, with Graham as Colonial Secretary. In 1902 he became Attorney-General again and from June to August he acted as Prime Minister while Sprigg attended the Coronation of King Edward VII in London.

In 1904 Sprigg's government fell again and Graham was appointed a judge. In 1913 he was appointed Judge-President of the Eastern Districts Local Division of the Supreme Court of South Africa, with his seat in his hometown. He held this post until his retirement in 1937.

He was knighted in the 1920 New Year Honours.[3]

Sport participation

In September 1882, Graham participated in the Oxford and Cambridge Challenge Cup tennis tournament, played on grass in Oxford, where he lost in the first round to Robert Wallace Glen Lee Braddell, the son of Sir Thomas Braddell.[4] In 1891 he won the South African Doubles Lawn Tennis Championship. Graham was also a keen cricketer and represented the Cape Town based, Western Province Cricket Club, as a fast bowler.[1]

Footnotes
  1. Krüger, D. W. (1977). Dictionary of South African biography; VOL III. Beyers, C. J. [Pretoria]: Nasional Boekhandel Bpk. for National Council for Social Research, Dept. of Higher Education. p. 341. ISBN 0-624-00856-8. OCLC 20937.
  2. "Graham, Thomas Lynedoch (GRHN879TL)". A Cambridge Alumni Database. University of Cambridge.
  3. "Colonial Office List", The Times, 1 January 1920
  4. "player – Tennisarchives.com". www.tennisarchives.com. Retrieved 24 April 2020.

References
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.