Campbell, John, 1st Baron Campbell (1779-1861)

Scottish lawyer and politician. He was called to the Bar in 1806 and entered Parliament as member for Stafford in 1830. He supported Lord John Russell's first Reform Bill, and in 1832 was appointed solicitor-general. He represented Dudley (1832-34), he was later elected as a candidate for Edinburgh. In 1840, as attorney-general, he prosecuted Chartists for high treason, and in 1841 he became chancellor of Ireland. He resigned the chancellorship a few weeks later, and devoted his leisure to writing The Lives of the Lord Chancellors and Keepers of the Great Seal (1845-69). Campbell was born in Fife, Scotland.