Sir James Stirling, FRS was a British barrister, judge, and amateur scientist. In his youth he demonstrated exceptional ability in mathematics, becoming Senior Wrangler at Cambridge in 1860, regarded at the time as "the highest intellectual achievement attainable in Britain". He was a High Court judge in the Chancery Division from 1886 to 1900, and a Lord Justice of Appeal from 1900, when he was made a Privy Counsellor, until his retirement in 1906. He continued to pursue his scientific and mathematical interests during his legal career, and after retiring from the bench became vice-president of the Royal Society in 1909–1910.
As he was not a member of the Church of England, he was ineligible for a fellowship at Cambridge. Turning to the legal profession, he joined Lincoln's Inn in January 1860, and was called to the bar in November 1862. He reported cases in the rolls court, first for the New Reports, then for Law Reports until 1876. He was chosen in 1881 by the attorney-general, Sir Henry James as his "devil", or Treasury Devil, a prestigious appointment which leads almost automatically to appointment to the High Court bench. In 1886, he became a judge in the Chancery Division of the High Court, and was knighted in the same year; the following year he received an honorary LLD from his alma mater, the University of Aberdeen. He was promoted to the Court of Appeal on 27 October 1900, when Sir Archibald Smith became Master of the Rolls. Stirling retired from the bench on 11 June 1906. In his early career he gained a high reputation as a draughtsman and conveyancer, but was diffident in recognising his own abilities. It was said that his opinion was "the best in Lincoln's Inn, if only one could get it". Later, as a judge, he demonstrated a degree of equanimity and clarity which made him popular with the bar. He was criticised for his slowness, but he was careful and painstaking, and his judgments were rarely reversed.
Stirling married Elizabeth Renton, daughter of John Thomson Renton, of Bradstone Brook, Shalford, Surrey, who was of Scottish descent, on 12 May 1868. Elizabeth was 9 years younger than Stirling, and they had three children: James Irvine, Agnes Renton and John Gordon. The family lived in Kensington; in 1871 they were in Hanover Terrace, and by 1881 had moved to Ladbroke Grove. The family were known to be living in Shalford in 1891, although they had leased Finchcocks, a Georgian manor house in Goudhurst, Kent from 1890, where Stirling spent most of his time after retirement. Stirling died at Finchcocks on 27 June 1916.
