James Kent (jurist)

James Kent
James Kent by Rembrandt Peale (c. 1835)
Recorder of New York City
In office
1797–1798
Preceded bySamuel Jones
Succeeded byRichard Harison
Chief Justice of the New York Supreme Court
In office
1804–1814
Preceded byMorgan Lewis
Succeeded bySmith Thompson
Chancellor of New York
In office
1814–1823
Preceded byJohn Lansing Jr.
Succeeded byNathan Sanford
Personal details
Born(1763-07-31)July 31, 1763
Fredericksburg, Dutchess County, New York, British America
DiedDecember 12, 1847(1847-12-12) (aged 84)
New York City, New York, U.S.
RelativesMoss Kent (brother)
EducationYale College
James Sharples, portrait of James Kent (1763–1847), 1798, pastel on paper, 8-7/8" x 6-15-16", gift of Edmund Astley Prentis, 1963 (C00.730), Avery Library, Columbia University

James Kent (July 31, 1763 – December 12, 1847) was an American jurist, New York legislator, legal scholar, and first Professor of Law at Columbia College.[1] His Commentaries on American Law (based on lectures first delivered at Columbia in 1794, and further lectures in the 1820s) became the formative American law book in the antebellum era (published in 14 editions before 1896) and also helped establish the tradition of law reporting in America.[2] He is sometimes called the "American Blackstone".

  1. ^ Nathan Dorn, "Collection Highlights: Chancellor James Kent".
  2. ^ Langbein, John H., Chancellor Kent and the History of Legal Literature (1993). Faculty Scholarship Series. Paper 549. p. 548