George Joseph Bell

Bell became a member of the Faculty of Advocates in 1791, and was one of the close friends of Francis Jeffrey. In 1804 he published a Treatise on the Law of Bankruptcy in Scotland, which he enlarged and published in 1826 as Commentaries on the Law of Scotland and on the principles of Mercantile Jurisprudence, praised by Joseph Story and James Kent.^[1]

In 1821, Bell was elected Professor of Scots Law in the University of Edinburgh; and in 1831 he was appointed to one of the principal clerkships in the supreme court. He was placed at the head of a commission in 1833 to inquire into the Scottish bankruptcy law. His smaller treatise, Principles of the Law of Scotland, became a standard text-book for law students. He wrote also Illustrations of the Principles.^[1]

in 1805 Bell married Barbara Shaw, granddaughter of Very Reverend David Shaw.^[2] In 1832 they were living at 68 Queen Street in the centre of Edinburgh, since demolished.^[3] In his final years he lived at 6 Darnaway Street.^[4]

In 1831 he was appointed Principal Clerk of Session in place of Sir Walter Scott.^[5]

He is buried in St John's Episcopal Churchyard at the west end of Princes Street in Edinburgh.^[6]

Attribution:

•  This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Bell, George Joseph". Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 3 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 685.

• Edinburgh Law School