Background
Thomas was born on January 10, 1750, in Edinburgh, Scotland. He was the youngest son of the tenth Earl of Buchan.
Thomas was born on January 10, 1750, in Edinburgh, Scotland. He was the youngest son of the tenth Earl of Buchan.
He was educated in schools at Edinburgh and St. Andrews and entered the navy in 1764; in 1768 he transferred to the army
His success was made certain by his defense, in 1781, of Lord George Gordon, who had led the anti-Catholic Gordon Riots in London the previous June, in the course of which 450 persons were killed. Erskine obtained Gordon's acquittal on the ground that his client had no treasonable intention, and in this way, the doctrine of constructive (implied) treason was given a death blow. Erskine entered the House of Commons in 1783, but there his speeches never attracted attention. In 1784 his defense of Dr. W. D. Shipley, Dean of St. Asaph, against a charge of seditious libel led to the passing of the Libel Act in 1792. In 1792 he unsuccessfully defended Thomas Paine, author of The Rights of Man, but in 1794 he gained great popularity by his successful defense of the advocates of parliamentary reform.
Thomas was called to the bar in 1778, achieving almost instant success as a result of his oratorical gifts. His success was made certain by his defense, in 1781, of Lord George Gordon, who had led the anti-Catholic Gordon Riots in London the previous June, in the course of which 450 persons were killed. Erskine's last prominent case was the successful defense in 1820 of the estranged wife of George IV, Queen Caroline, who had been brought before the House of Lords on the charge of adultery. He died at Almondell, Linlithgowshire, Scotland, on Nov. 17, 1823.