James Kent

James Kent ( born July 31, 1763 in Fredericksburg (now Patterson, New York), † December 12, 1847 in Kent, New York) was an American lawyer and legal scholar.

Life

As the son of a lawyer Moss Kent from Dutchess County, he attended Yale College, where he was instrumental in building the fraternity Phi Beta Kappa. After graduating in 1781 he opened his own law firm in 1785 in Poughkeepsie. From 1791 to 1793 Kent was a member of the New York State Assembly. After moving to New York City Governor John Jay appointed him judge of the New York Court of Chancery.

Also in 1793 Kent was appointed the first professor of law at the College of Columbia University. 1796/97 he returned to the New York Assembly, before being appointed in 1798 judge of the New York State Supreme Court, which he chaired from 1804. From 1814 onward, he also assumed the office of Chancellor of New York. 1821 Kent took part in the Constituent Assembly in New York. Two years later, after reaching the statutory retirement age, Kent retired. He lived 1837-1847 in modest circumstances in Summit (New Jersey). His best known work, the Commentaries on American Law, 1826-1830, published in a four -volume work in which besides the state law also international law as well as issues of general personal rights and possession are treated. Even during his lifetime the work of Kent appeared in six editions.

Legacies

Kent County ( Michigan) is named after James Kent as well as the Chicago -Kent College of Law. The former home of Kent in Summit still exists today and is integrated into a larger property.