Editing Adrian Knox

{{Short description|Australian politician and Chief Justice of the High Court (1863–1932)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2021}}
{{Use Australian English|date=August 2021}}
{{Infobox officeholder
| honorific-prefix    = [[The Right Honourable]]
| name                = Sir Adrian Knox
| honorific-suffix    = [[Order of St Michael and St George|KCMG]] [[Privy Councilor|PC]] [[King's Counsel|KC]]
| image               = Sir Adrian Knox 1923 SLNSW FL19858616.jpg
| caption             = Portrait of Sir Adrian Knox, November 1923
| order               = 
| office              = [[Chief Justice of Australia]]
| term_start          = 18 October 1919
| term_end            = 31 March 1930
| appointer           = [[Ronald Munro Ferguson, 1st Viscount Novar|Sir Ronald Munro Ferguson]]
| nominator           = [[Billy Hughes]]
| predecessor         = [[Sir Samuel Griffith]]
| successor           = [[Sir Isaac Isaacs]]
| birth_date          = 29 November 1863
| birth_place         = [[Sydney]], New South Wales, Australia
| death_date          = 27 April 1932 (aged 69)
| death_place         = [[Woollahra, New South Wales]], Australia
| spouse              = {{marriage|Florence Lawson|1897}}
| father              = [[Edward Knox (Australian politician)|Sir Edward Knox]]
}}

'''Sir Adrian Knox''' {{small|[[Order of St Michael and St George|KCMG]] [[Privy Councilor|PC]] [[King's Counsel|KC]]}} (29 November 1863{{spaced ndash}}27 April 1932) was an Australian lawyer and judge who served as the second [[Chief Justice of Australia]], in office from 1919 to 1930.

Knox was born in [[Sydney]], the son of businessman [[Edward Knox (Australian politician)|Sir Edward Knox]]. He studied law at [[Trinity College, Cambridge]], and after returning to Australia established a successful law firm. He was elected to the [[New South Wales Legislative Assembly]] in 1894, but retired in 1898 after just two terms in office. Knox eventually became one of the best known [[barrister]]s in New South Wales, [[Queen's Counsel|taking silk]] in 1906 and appearing frequently in major constitutional cases. In 1919, he was somewhat unexpectedly nominated by [[Billy Hughes]] to succeed the retiring [[Samuel Griffith]] as Chief Justice. The most famous decision of his tenure was the ''[[Amalgamated Society of Engineers v Adelaide Steamship Co Ltd|Engineers case]]'' of 1920.

==Early life==
Knox was born in [[Sydney]] on 29 November 1863, the son of [[Edward Knox (Australian politician)|Sir Edward Knox]] and the former Martha Rutledge. His mother was born in Ireland, and was the sister of the Victorian politician [[William Rutledge]]. His father was born in England, and was the founder of the [[CSR Limited|Colonial Sugar Refining Company]]. Knox attended private schools in Sydney and was then sent to England to complete his education. After a period at [[Harrow School]], he went on to study law at [[Trinity College, Cambridge]], graduating in 1885. Shortly after, he was admitted to the [[Inner Temple]], allowing him to practise as a [[barrister]].<ref name=adb>{{cite AuDB |first= Martha |last=Rutledge |title=Knox, Sir Adrian (1863–1932) |id2=knox-sir-adrian-6989 |access-date=11 February 2018}}</ref>

==Legal career==
[[File:Adrian Knox.jpg|thumb|Adrian Knox]]
[[File:Adrian Knox caricature.jpg|thumb|Knox caricatured in 1915]]
Knox returned to Australia in 1886 and joined his brother George in practising law. When George died in 1888, Adrian took over the practice, and soon became one of the most successful lawyers at the Sydney bar. Between 1888 and 1890, he reported [[equity (law)|equity]] cases for the New South Wales Law Reports.<ref name=adb/>

Knox was elected to the [[New South Wales Legislative Assembly]] at the [[Results of the 1894 New South Wales colonial election#Woollahra|1894 election for the seat of Woollahra]].<ref name="Green Woollahra 1894">{{cite NSW election |year=1894 |district=Woollahra |access-date=21 June 2020}}</ref> After being reelected at the [[Results of the 1895 New South Wales colonial election#Woollahra|1895 election]],<ref name="Green Woollahra 1895">{{cite NSW election |year=1895 |district=Woollahra |access-date=21 June 2020}}</ref> he retired from the parliament in 1898,<ref name="NSW Parl">{{Cite NSW Parliament |id=1131 |name=Sir Adrian Knox (1863-1932) |former=Yes |access-date=20 June 2020}}</ref> to concentrate on his legal career. At this time, he was also a director of the [[Australian Mutual Provident Society]] and a founding member of the [[Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research|Walter and Eliza Hall Trust]].<ref name=adb/>

Knox was made a [[King's Counsel]] in 1906, and shortly after was offered a position on the bench of the [[Supreme Court of New South Wales]], which he declined. Also in 1906, Knox became Chairman of the [[Australian Jockey Club]], indulging his passion for [[horse-racing]]. In 1910, Knox's horse "Vavasor" won the [[Sydney Cup]]. He remained chairman until 1919. During [[World War I]], Knox left his practice and traveled to [[Egypt]], where he served as a Commissioner for the [[International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement|Red Cross]]. He served on the NSW Bar Council from its foundation in 1902 until 1910, and again from 1916 to 1919.<ref name=adb/>

==Judicial career==
Soon after Knox returned from [[Egypt]], Sir [[Samuel Griffith]] retired as the first Chief Justice of the [[High Court of Australia]]. In October 1919, Prime Minister [[Billy Hughes]] nominated Knox for appointment as the second. His appointment was received somewhat poorly by [[Edmund Barton|Sir Edmund Barton]], who as the senior judge on the court and a former prime minister felt a certain entitlement to the position.<ref name="oxford_companion_hca">{{cite encyclopedia  |last1=Fricke |first1= Graham |last2=Rutledge |first2=Martha | title=Knox, Adrian |pages=400–402 |encyclopedia=The Oxford Companion to the High Court of Australia |editor=Blackshield, Tony |editor-link=Tony Blackshield |editor2=Coper, Michael |editor2-link=Michael Coper |editor3=Williams, George |editor3-link=George Williams (lawyer) |year=2001 |publisher=[[Oxford University Press]] |location=South Melbourne, Victoria |isbn=978-0-19-554022-2}}</ref> Knox sat on a number of judicial committees in this capacity, including one which investigated the [[Politics of the United Kingdom#Government|British Government's]] authority to establish the [[Boundary Commissions (United Kingdom)|Boundary Commission]] for [[Northern Ireland]]. During his time as Chief Justice, Knox presided over such significant cases as the [[Amalgamated Society of Engineers v Adelaide Steamship Co Ltd|Engineers' case]] of 1920.<ref name=adb/>

Knox was one of six justices of the High Court to have served in the [[Parliament of New South Wales]], along with [[Edmund Barton]], [[Richard O'Connor]], [[Albert Piddington]], [[Edward McTiernan]] and [[H. V. Evatt]].

In 1930, Knox was left half of the estate of his friend and mining magnate [[John Brown (coalmine owner)|John Brown]], which was reportedly worth more than a million [[Pound Sterling|pounds]], and in March 1930 he retired from the High Court in order to manage this business. Knox died in [[Woollahra, New South Wales|Woollahra]] on 27 April 1932 and is interred in [[Waverley Cemetery]]. He was survived by his wife and three children.<ref name=adb/>

He was a book collector and his private library was considered one of the best in Sydney.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Stitz |first1=Charles |title=Australian Book Collectors |date=2010 |publisher=Bread Street Press |location=Bendigo |isbn=9780646533407 |pages=156–157 |edition=First}}</ref>

==Honours==
In 1918, Knox was made a Companion of the [[Order of St Michael and St George]] (CMG), and in 1921 he was elevated to Knight Commander of that order (KCMG). He was appointed to the [[Privy Council of the United Kingdom]] in 1920, allowing him to use the style "[[The Right Honourable]]". Knox was an inaugural inductee of the [[Australian Racing Hall of Fame]], which was established in 2001. The Adrian Knox Stakes is an [[Australian Jockey Club|AJC]] [[Group races|Group 3]] Australian [[Thoroughbred]] quality handicap [[horse race]] named in honour of Knox which is held annually at [[Randwick Racecourse]] in [[Sydney]] in September

==References==
{{Reflist}}

*{{Dictionary of Australian Biography|First=Adrian|Last=Knox|shortlink=0-dict-biogI-K.html#knox1}}
* Australian Racing Hall of Fame – [http://www.racinghalloffame.com.au/inductees/aknox.htm Sir Adrian Knox]

{{Commons category}}

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{{succession box | title=[[Chief Justice of Australia]]| before=[[Samuel Griffith|Sir Samuel Griffith]] | after=[[Isaac Isaacs|Sir Isaac Isaacs]] | years=1919–1930}}
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{{s-ttl|title=Member for [[Electoral district of Woollahra|Woollahra]] | years=1894–1898}}
{{s-aft|after=[[John Garland (Australian politician)|John Garland]]}}
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{{Chief Justices of the High Court of Australia}}

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Knox, Adrian}}
[[Category:1863 births]]
[[Category:1932 deaths]]
[[Category:People educated at Harrow School]]
[[Category:Alumni of Trinity College, Cambridge]]
[[Category:Members of the Inner Temple]]
[[Category:Australian Knights Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George]]
[[Category:Members of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly]]
[[Category:Burials at Waverley Cemetery]]
[[Category:Chief justices of Australia]]
[[Category:Justices of the High Court of Australia]]
[[Category:Members of the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council]]
[[Category:Australian Thoroughbred Racing Hall of Fame inductees]]
[[Category:Australian King's Counsel]]
[[Category:Australian members of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom]]
[[Category:Australian people of English descent]]
[[Category:Australian people of Irish descent]]
[[Category:Australian book and manuscript collectors]]
[[Category:Sport Australia Hall of Fame inductees]]
[[Category:Colony of New South Wales people]]