Matthew davenport hill biography

​HILL, MATTHEW DAVENPORT (1792–1872), reformer of the criminal law, the eldest son of Thomas Wright Hill [q.

v.], by Sarah Lea, his wife, was born at Birmingham on 6 Aug. 1792. He was brother of Sir Rowland Hill, the inventor of penny postage. [For an account of his parents and the circumstances in which he was brought up see Hill, Sir Rowland, and Hill, Thomas Wright.] Till the age of twenty-three he assisted his father in his school.

At an early period of his life he took an active part in the political movement of which Birmingham some years later became the centre, writing articles for the ‘Midland Chronicle.’ In 1814 he entered at Lincoln's Inn, being the first man from Birmingham who went to the bar.

Matthew davenport hill probation

He did not begin to keep terms till two years later. In his student days he reported in the House of Commons, and wrote for the newspapers. With two friends, John and Samuel Steer, he carried on for a s