Raised by the vicar of Wotton-under-Edge after he was orphaned at the age of 5, Hale was educated at Magdalen College, Oxford. Originally embarking on a study for holy orders, Hale was induced to take up a law profession by Serjeant Glanville, a noted counsel of the day. In 1629, he left Oxford and began his studies at Lincoln Inn. Hale also devoted his time to the study of mathematics, physics, chemistry, anatomy and architecture. He was called to the bar in 1637. He quickly gained repute as an excellent counsel and acquired an elite clientele which included Christopher Love, Archbishop Laud, Lord Maguire and the duke of Hamilton among others. In 1644, Hale was a member of the assembly of divines. In 1653, he was appointed a judge in the court of common pleas and in 1655 was a member of parliament for Gloucestershire. In 1660, upon the Restoration, Hale was appointed chief baron of the exchequer by Charles II, who also knighted him. In 1671, he became the Lord Chief Justice and held that post until his health began to fail in 1676. He retired to Alderney, but died later that year. Hale's more important works include Essay Touching the Gravitation or Nongravitation of Fluid Bodies (1673), Observations Touching the Torricellian Experiment (1675) and the posthumously published works The Primitive Origination of Man (1677), Of the Nature of True Religion (1684), A Brief Extract of the Christian Religion (1688), History of the Common Law of England (1713) and History of the Pleas of the Crown (1736). |
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