Austin, John 1790-1859
English jurist

He was born in Creeting Mill, Suffolk, was called to the Bar in 1818, and in 1826 was appointed Professor of Jurisprudence at the newly-founded University of London (now University College). The subject was not recognized as a necessary branch of legal study, and from lack of students he resigned the chair (1832). His Province of Jurisprudence Determined (1832), defining (on a utilitarian basis) the field of ethics and law in time had a great influence on English views of the subject, introducing a precise terminology previously unknown, and inspired the English analytical school of jurists, which concentrated on examination of terminology and concepts. His Lectures on Jurisprudence were published in 1863.