Gneist, HEINRICH RUDOLF HERMANN FRIEDRICH VON, jurist, was born in Berlin, 13th August 1816. He entered official life as assessor in the Superior Court (Kammergericht) in 1841, and was successively assistant-judge of the same court and of the Supreme Tribunal, until in 1850 he resigned this position in order to devote himself exclusively to teaching; for since 1844 he had held the chair of Jurisprudence in Berlin University. From 1858 he sat in the Prussian lower house as a National Liberal, and was also elected a member of the imperial parliament. His writings deal chiefly with constitutional law in England and Germany, and with politico-historical subjects, as Die Bildung der Geschwornengerichte in Deutschland (1849); Adel und Ritterschaft in England (1853); Das heutige englische Verfassungs- und Verwaltungsrecht (1857-63; 3d ed. 1876-84), his masterpiece; Budget und Gesetz nach dem constitutionellen Staatsrecht Englands (1867); Die Stadtverwaltung der City von London (1867); Verwaltung, Justiz, Rechtsweg . . . nach englischen und deutschen Verhältnissen (1869); Englische Verfassungsgeschichte (1882; Eng. trans. by Ashworth, 1886); Das englische Parlament (1886; Eng. trans. by Shee, 1886), and numerous works dealing with current questions of practical politics in Germany. He was ennobled in 1888, and died 21st July 1895.
Gneist, HEINRICH RUDOLF HERMANN FRIEDRICH VON
Chambers's Encyclopaedia, Volume 5: Friday to Humanitarians, p. 263
Source scan(s): p. 0274