Jacob de Villiers

Jacob Abraham Jeremy de Villiers (14 December 1868 – 16 September 1932) was a judge of the Appellate Division from 1920 to 1932 and Chief Justice of South Africa from 1929 to 1932.

Early life and education De Villiers was born in Fauresmith, the son of Jacobus Johannes Luttig de Villiers, deputy sheriff at Fauresmith and his second wife, Johanna Lodewica Oberholzer. The family later moved to Winburg, where his father became the sheriff. De Villiers matriculated at Grey College in Bloemfontein, passing the Matriculation Examination in 1886 and winning two bursaries. He continued his studies at the Victoria College in Stellenbosch. De Villiers gained first place in the B.A. examination in 1889 and was awarded a William Porter Bursary.

In 1890, he went to the Netherlands to study law at the University of Amsterdam, but in July that year decided to compete for a senior bursary in law at the University of London. He completed the examination in August 1891, in which he came first and won the Senior Studentship.

When the Union of South Africa was formed in 1910, de Villiers was not included in the first Union cabinet but was appointed the first Judge-President of the Transvaal Provincial Division and also additional Judge of Appellate Division. He became a permanent Judge of Appeal in 1920 and after the death of Sir William Solomon in 1929, he was appointed Chief Justice of the Union of South Africa and in 1931 he was made a member of the Privy Council.

Personal life De Villiers married the widow, Maria Jacoba Carolina Meintjies in November 1907 and they had three children. De Villiers left for Germany in April 1932 for medical treatment but died five months later in London, England.