Selden Society

The society takes its name from the eminent English jurist and legal and constitutional scholar, John Selden (1584–1654). • Illustration — John Selden (1584–1654), after whom the society is named

• Name — Selden Society • Formation — 1887 • Founder — Frederic William Maitland • Type — Learned society • Status — Charity • Registration Id — 211536 • Purpose — Historical and Legal Study and Research • Headquarters — London, United Kingdom • Leader Title — Activities • Leader Name — Research & Publications, Lectures & Events • Leader Title2 — Collections • Leader Name2 — Library, Archives • Leader Title3 — Patron • Leader Name3 — King Charles III • Leader Title4 — President • Leader Name4 — Donald Cryan

The society was founded in 1887 by a group which included F. W. Maitland, who served as its first literary editor and personally edited eight volumes for the Society. The Society's first years were rocky: its treasurer, P. E. Dove, committed suicide in 1894, leaving behind a deficit of £1,000. Its principal activity is publishing historical records of English law. Since its inception, a volume of significant texts has been published every year. It also publishes a supplementary series. The current president is Donald Cryan. The current literary director is Neil Jones, who succeeded Sir John Baker in this role in 2011. The secretary is Michael Lobban, Professor of Legal History at the London School of Economics. The society meets for an annual general meeting every year, and other meetings are held in the United States and Australia. It often collaborates with the Ames Foundation at Harvard Law School. Membership of the society is open to anyone worldwide upon payment of a fee, and is primarily composed of educational institutions and interested individuals (mostly legal historians and lawyers).

• 1887: Queen Victoria • 1895: The Prince Wales (afterward King Edward VII) • 1895: The Duke of York (afterward King George V) • 1895: Thomas F. Bayard • 1901: King Edward VII • 1910: King George V • 1923: The Prince of Wales (afterward King Edward VIII) • 1936: King Edward VIII • 1937: King George VI • 1952: The Duke of Edinburgh • 2024: King Charles III

• 1887: The Lord Coleridge • 1895: The Lord Herschell • 1898: Sir Nathaniel Lindley • 1901: The Lord Macnaghten • 1904: The Lord Alverstone • 1907: Sir Robert Romer • 1910: Walter Charles Renshaw • 1913: The Viscount Haldane • 1916: The Lord Parker of Waddington • 1919: The Lord Sumner • 1922: Sir Thomas Rolls Warrington • 1925: The Viscount Cave • 1928: The Lord Hanworth • 1931: The Lord Atkin • 1934: The Lord Tomlin • 1935: Sir George John Talbot • 1936: The Lord Wright • 1940: Sir Wilfrid Arthur Greene • 1943: Sir Malcolm Martin Macnaghten • 1946: The Lord Uthwatt • 1949: Sir Cyril Thomas Flower • 1952: Sir Harry Bevir Vaisey • 1955: Sir Walter Leslie Farrer • 1958: Sir Cecil Thomas Carr • 1961: Sir Gerald Ritchie Upjohn • 1964: Arthur Lehman Goodhart • 1967: Sir Eric George Molyneux Fletcher • 1970: The Lord Diplock • 1973: Sir Richard William Southern • 1976: Sir Robert Edgar Megarry • 1979: Sir Godfrey William Rowland Morley • 1982: Geoffrey Rudolph Elton • 1985: Stroud Francis Charles Milsom • 1988: Sir Ernest Irvine Goulding •... • 1994: David Eryl Corbet Yale • 2018: Nicholas Peter Le Poidevin • 2022: Donald Michael Cryan

The following is established of the heading itself. It is also recorded that selden Society is recorded from 1887. The record continues: selden Society is associated with United Kingdom.

Early volumes published by the society include: * * * • This volume made use of record type, in an attempt to present the text in a near facsimile of the original manuscript sources. F. W. Maitland expressed reservations about the experiment, and it was not repeated. * * Volumes published in recent years include: * * * * * * * * * * • (2 vols)