The former Master of the English Rolls, Lord Alfred Thompson Denning, has died in a Hampshire hospital, aged 100.
He was born on January 23rd, 1899, in Whitchurch, Hampshire, the son of a draper. He was educated at Andover Grammar School before graduating from Magdalen College, Oxford, with a triple first in maths.
He decided on a career at the Bar because he "saw it as the best way to advancement", becoming a judge at the age of 45. During his legal career he also sat as a judge in the Court of Appeal and joined the House of Lords at the age of 58. He became Master of the Rolls at 63, ranking third behind the Lord Chancellor and the Lord Chief Justice, until his retirement at the age of 84.
Paying tribute to Lord Denning, the Prime Minister, Mr Tony Blair, described him as "one of the great men of our age," and recalled appearing before Lord Denning as a young lawyer. "His judgments were a model of lucidity. He was prepared to use the law in the interests of fairness and justice," Mr Blair said. The Lord Chancellor, Lord Irvine, called him "the people's judge".
According to the former prime minister, Baroness Thatcher, "Lord Denning was probably the greatest English judge of modern times. His life will provide inspiration for generations to come."