Theobald Mathew

Theobald Mathew (5 December 1866 – 20 June 1939), known as Theo Mathew, was a British barrister and legal humorist.

Life and legal career Born in London, Mathew was the elder son of the Irish-born judge Sir James Charles Mathew and Elizabeth, née Biron, the daughter of a vicar.

Mathew had a large practice at the common law bar; after the First World War he frequently appeared in Canadian appeals to the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council. In his later years he became a libel specialist.

He was Recorder of Margate from 1913 to 1927 and Recorder of Maidstone from 1927 to 1936.

Mathew was a popular pupil master: among his pupils at 4 Paper Buildings were the future prime minister Clement Attlee (whose father was a friend of Mathew), Sir Stafford Cripps, Quintin Hogg, and Peter Thorneycroft.

As a legal humorist Mathew's fame among his contemporaries chiefly rests on his reputation as one of the greatest wits of his day. These were subsequently published in four volumes between 1926 and 1932. In 1937, he published For Lawyers and Others, which brought his work to a broader audience.

He was also famous for his spontaneous witticisms. On one occasion, Mathew, upon meeting a white friend in the library of an Inn of Court which had many African members, greeted him with "Dr. Livingstone, I presume", a remark which was said to have "acquired legendary status during his lifetime".

Family In 1898, he married Ruth, daughter of the Rev George Henry Rigby and niece of the judge Sir John Rigby; they had five sons and two daughters.