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Kent, James 1763-1847

Jurist; born in Phillipstown, N. Y., July 31, 1763; studied law

James Kent.

with Egbert Benson; and began its practice in 1787, at Poughkeepsie, N. Y. He was a member of the New York legislature from 1790 to 1793, and became Professor of Law in Columbia College in 1793. Deeply versed in the doctrine of civil law, he was made a master in chancery in 1796; city recorder in 1797; judge of the Supreme Court in 1798; chiefjustice in 1804; and was chancellor from 1814 to 1823. After taking a leading part in the State constitutional convention in 1821, he again became law professor in Columbia College, and the lectures he there delivered form the basis of his able Commentaries on the United States Constitution, published in 4 volumes. He was one of the clearest legal writers of his day. In 1828 he was elected president of the New York Historical Society. He passed his later years in revising and enlarging his Commentaries, and in giving opinions on legal subjects. He died in New York City, Dec. 12, 1847.

Harper and Brothers Publishers. . New York. 1902.

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