Editing Michael Kirby (judge) (section)

==Early life and education==
Michael Donald Kirby was born on 18 March 1939 at [[Crown Street Women's Hospital]] to Donald and Jean Langmore (née Knowles) Kirby. He was the eldest of five siblings, followed by twins Donald William and David Charles (the latter died at 18 months from pneumonia), David, and Diana Margaret.<ref name="Paradoxes">{{cite book |last=Brown |first=A.J. |title=Michael Kirby: Paradoxes and Principles |year=2011 |publisher=Federation Press |location=Leichhardt |isbn=978-1862876507}}</ref> In 1943 his grandmother, Norma Gray, remarried and her second husband was Jack Simpson, National Treasurer of the [[Australian Communist Party]].  Although Kirby came to admire Simpson, neither he nor his immediate family embraced the ideology.  His father supported the [[Australian Labor Party]] but never became a member.  His mother, it is believed, voted for [[Robert Menzies]] ([[Liberal Party of Australia|Liberal Party]]).

Kirby attended state schools, commencing at [[North Strathfield, New South Wales|North Strathfield]] Public School, followed by [[Summer Hill, New South Wales|Summer Hill]] Public School for [[Opportunity Class]]es, and then [[Fort Street High School]] (at that time Fort Street Boys High School) in Sydney.<ref name="Paradoxes"/>

After graduating from high school, Kirby later attended the [[University of Sydney]], where he earned a [[Bachelor of Arts]] (1959), [[Bachelor of Laws]] (1962), [[Bachelor of Economics]] (1965), and [[Master of Laws]] ([[British undergraduate degree classification#First-class honours|First-Class Honours]]) (1967). At university, Kirby was elected President of the [[University of Sydney Students' Representative Council]] (1962–1963) and President of the [[University of Sydney Union]] (1965).<ref>[http://www.hcourt.gov.au/assets/publications/speeches/former-justices/kirbyj/kirbyjbio.html Biography: Hon. Justice Michael Kirby AC CMG]</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://sydney.edu.au/news/84.html?newsstoryid=3089|title=Transcript of Michael Kirby's talk|first=Ruchir|last=Punjabi|date=28 February 2009|publisher=The University of Sydney}}</ref>