LAWSON, Cecil Gordon (5 son of Wm. Lawson, Scottish portrait painter). b. Wellington, Shropshire 3 Dec. 1851; commenced painting in oils at the age of four; sketched in the open air at the age of 10, at the age of 14 was selling his sketches to the dealers; made his first sketching tour in Kent, Surrey and Sussex 1866; landscape painter; his pictures refused by the Royal Academy 1866, exhibited 13 pictures at R.A. and 5 at Suffolk st. 1869–80; first exhibited at New British Instit. Bond st. 1868; Cheyne walk, Chelsea, exhibited at R.A. 1870; his large picture painted at Wrotham in Kent, ‘The hop gardens of England,’ was not accepted at the R.A. 1875, but in 1876 was hung in a good position. d. 15 Cheyne walk, Chelsea 10 June 1882. bur. Haslemere 17 June. Cecil Lawson, a memoir. By E. W. Gosse (1883), portrait; Graphic, xxvi 68 (1882), portrait; I.L.N. lxxxi 56 (1882), portrait; London Society, xliii 345 (1882), portrait.
LAWSON, Henry (younger son of Johnson Lawson, dean of Battle, d. 25 Nov. 1778). b. Greenwich 23 March 1774; apprenticed to Edward Nairne of Cornhill, optician, his mother’s third husband; member of Spectacle makers’ company, and twice master; one of original members of Askesian society 1796; lived at Hereford 1823–41, equipped an observatory there with a five-foot refractor 1826 and with one of 11 feet 1834, the finest telescope ever made by Dollond, he afterwards presented the latter to royal naval school at Greenwich; removed to 7 Lansdown crescent, Bath 1841 where he formed an observatory on the roof of his house; silver medallist of Royal soc. of arts for his invention of an observing chair called Reclinea; F.R. Astron. Soc. 1833; F.R.S. 21 May 1840; published Register of the quantity of rain that has fallen in the city of Hereford 1836; A paper on the arrangement of an observatory 1844. d. 7 Lansdown crescent, Bath 23 Aug. 1855.
LAWSON, James. b. Glasgow 9 Nov. 1799; ed. at Glasgow univ.; entered counting house of his uncle at New York 1815; partner in a mercantile house which failed 1826; associate editor of Morning Courier 1827–9 and of Mercantile Advertiser 1829–33; marine insurance agent in New York 1833; author of Tales and sketches. By A Cosmopolite. New York 1830; Poems. Gleanings from spare hours of a business life. New York 1857; Giordano, a tragedy produced at Park theatre, New York, Nov. 1828; Liddesdale or the border chief, a tragedy 1859; contributed many articles to periodicals. d. Yonkers, New York 20 March 1880. Wilson’s Poets and poetry of Scotland, ii 208–10 (1876).
LAWSON, James Anthony (eld. son of James Lawson). b. Waterford 1817; ed. at Waterford and Trin. coll. Dublin, scholar 1836, senior moderator 1837, gold medallist; B.A. 1838, LLB. 1841, LLD. 1850; Whately professor of political economy 1840–45; called to Irish bar 1840; Q.C. 29 Jany. 1857; bencher of King’s Inns 1861; legal adviser to the crown in Ireland 1858–9; solicitor general for Ireland Feb. 1861, attorney general 1865 to 1866; P.C. Ireland 1865; suppressed the ‘Irish People’ newspaper 1865; contested Univ. of Dublin 1857; M.P. Portarlington 1865–8; contested Portarlington 1868; justice of Court of Common Pleas, Ireland, Dec. 1868; justice of Queen’s Bench division June 1882 to death; an Irish church comr. July 1869; P.C. 18 May 1870; a comr. for the great seal March to Dec. 1874; Patrick Delany attempted to murder him while walking in Kildare st. Dublin 11 Nov. 1882; author of Five lectures on political economy 1844; author with H. Connor of Reports of cases in high court of chancery of Ireland during the time of lord chancellor Sugden 1865. d. Shankhill near Dublin 10 Aug. 1887. Irish Law Times, xi 464 (1887).
LAWSON, John Joseph (2 son of James Lawson of Norwood). b. 1802; publisher of the Times newspaper to death. d. Downshire hill, Hampstead 24 March 1852. The Times testimonial. Report of the trial Bogle versus Lawson 1841; The Nelson sword v. Lord Denman’s law. The summing up of the judge in Evans versus Lawson for libel 1848.
LAWSON, John Parker. Minister in episcopal church of Scotland; chaplain in the army; lived in Edinburgh; author of The life of George Wishart of Pitarrow. Edinb. 1827; Life and times of William Laud, archbishop of Canterbury 2 vols. 1829; The Roman Catholic church in Scotland 1836; History of the Scottish episcopal church from the revolution to the present time. Edinb. 1843; Scotland delineated in a series of views, with letter press by J. P. Lawson 2 vols. 1847–54, 2 ed. 1858. d. 1852.
LAWSON, Lionel. b. 1824; ed. in Germany; inherited a fortune from his father; established a manufactory of printing ink at St. Ouen, France, where he made a fortune, and then sold business; printing ink manufacturer at 1 Bouverie st. Fleet st. and at Old Ford, Bow; purchased a large share in The Daily Telegraph, but never took any active part in management of the paper. d. 2 Brook st. Hanover sq. London 20 Sep. 1879, personalty sworn under £900,000, 11 Oct. 1879. I.L.N. lxxv 361, 362 (1879), portrait.
LAWSON, Sir Wilfrid, 1 Baronet (5 son of Thomas Wybergh of Clifton hall, Westmoreland 1757–1827). b. Bramhope hall, Yorkshire 5 Oct. 1795; ed. at Trin. coll. Camb.; assumed name of Lawson by r.l. 26 Sep. 1812 on inheriting estate of his maternal uncle sir W. Lawson; sheriff of Cumberland 1820; cr. baronet 30 Sep. 1831. d. Brayton, Cumberland 12 June 1867.
LAWSON, William. b. Lanark; a ploughboy; entered the army 1837; a non-commissioned officer 1839–54; served through Crimean war 1854–6; ensign 42nd (Royal Highland) foot 5 Nov. 1854, captain 10 Aug. 1858 to death, instructor of musketry to his regiment 1856; left England for Calcutta, Aug. 1857; commanded the picket of 37 men which defended themselves against 2000 rebels on the banks of the Suarda 15 Jany. 1858. d. Nynee Tal, Bengal 18 Aug. 1859.
LAWSON, Sir William, 1 Baronet (2 son of John Wright of Kelvedon hall, Essex 1763–1826). b. Middleton lodge, Middleton Tyas, Yorkshire 8 May 1796; assumed by r.l. name of Lawson in lieu of Wright 5 May 1834; cr. a baronet 8 Sep. 1841; received order of Christ from Pope Gregory XVI. 1844. d. Brough hall, Catterick, Yorkshire 22 June 1865.