William Meigh Goodman

Sir William Meigh Goodman (1847 – 3 May 1928) was a British lawyer and Judge. He served as Attorney General and Chief Justice of British Honduras and Hong Kong in the late 19th and early 20th Century.

His last position before retirement was as Chief Justice of Hong Kong.

Early life

Goodman was born in 1847 and was the fourth son of Samuel Robert Goodman, of London. Goodman was educated at University College of London where he obtained a B.A.(hons) in 1867. He was called to the Bar at the Middle Temple in 1870. He practised on the South Eastern Circuit and at the Surrey Sessions.

Career Goodman served as Attorney General of British Honduras (now Belize) from 1883 to 1886 and as Chief Justice of the same colony from 1886 to 1889. In 1886, he was commissioned to revise and consolidate the laws of British Honduras.

In March 1902, he was appointed Chief Justice of Hong Kong and led the court until 1905. He was appointed a Knight Bachelor in the November 1902 Birthday Honours, and received the dignity on 9 December 1902. In 1903 he presided over the laying of the foundation stone for the new Hong Kong Supreme Court building.

Personal life After the loss of his wife to a brief illness on 22 May 1890, Goodman took a leave of absence from 8 July until 7 January the next year.