Thomas Graham (barrister) explained

Honorific Prefix:The Honourable
Sir Thomas Graham
Monarch1:Edward VII
Office1:Prime Minister of Cape Colony
Term Start1:June
Term End1:August 1902
Governor1:Walter Hely-Hutchinson
Predecessor1:Gordon Sprigg
Successor1:Gordon Sprigg
Office2:Judge President of the Eastern Districts Local Division of the Supreme Court of South Africa
Term Start2:1913
Term End2:1937
Predecessor2:John Gilbert Kotzé
Office3:Judge of the Eastern Districts Court of the Supreme Court of South Africa
Term Start3:1904
Term End3:1913
Office4:Attorney-General of Cape Colony
Primeminister4:Gordon Sprigg
Term Start4:1902
Term End4:1904
Predecessor4:James Rose Innes
Successor4:Victor Sampson
Primeminister5:Gordon Sprigg
Term Start5:January
Term End5:June 1898
Predecessor5:Thomas Upington
Successor5:Richard Solomon
Office6:Colonial Secretary of Cape Colony
Term Start6:1900
Term End6:1902
Office7:Parliament of Cape Colony
Term Start7:1898
Term End7:1904
Birth Date:5 May 1860
Birth Place:Grahamstown, Cape Colony
Death Place:Union of South Africa
Alma Mater:St. Andrew's College
Clare College, Cambridge
Profession:lawyer, judge
Party:Progressive
Nationality:British, South African

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

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.

Legal and political career

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.[2]

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.[3] 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.

References

Notes and References

  1. Book: Krüger, D. W.. Dictionary of South African biography; VOL III. Nasional Boekhandel Bpk. for National Council for Social Research, Dept. of Higher Education. Beyers, C. J.. 1977. 0-624-00856-8. [Pretoria]. 341. 20937.
  2. "Colonial Office List", The Times, 1 January 1920
  3. Web site: Profile. tennisarchives.com. 2020-04-24.