Jeffrey, Lord Francis 1773-1850
Scottish judge and critic

Born in Edinburgh, he studied at Glasgow and Oxford, and in 1794 was called to the Scottish Bar. Acquiring a considerable reputation in the trials for sedition (1817-22), he was twice elected Lord Rector of Glasgow University (1820, 1832), and in 1829, Dean of the Faculty of Advocates. In 1830 he became MP for Perth, and on the formation of Earl Grey's ministry became Lord Advocate. After the passing of the Reform Bill he became MP for Edinburgh, which he represented until 1834, when he was made a judge of the Court of Session. With Sydney Smith, Lord Brougham and others, he established (1802) the influential Edinburgh Review, of which he was editor until 1829. He was a prolific and distinguished contributor, and a great admirer of many writers, including Keats, but failed to appreciate the 'Lake Poets', notoriously beginning his review of Wordsworth's The Excursion (1814) with the words 'This will never do'. A selection of his articles was published in 1844.