Leonard Knowles

Sir Leonard Joseph Knowles
President of the Senate of the Bahamas
In office 1964–1972
Prime Minister	Roland Symonette Lynden Pindling
Preceded by	George W. K. Roberts
Succeeded by	Gerald Cash
Personal details
Born	15 March 1916
Died	23 September 1999

Sir Leonard Joseph Knowles, CBE (15 March 1916 – 23 September 1999)[1] was the first Chief Justice of an independent Bahamas.

Early life and education

Knowles was born in Nassau, Bahamas, and was educated at Queen's College, Nassau before going to King's College London[2][3] where he took an LLB in law in 1937. In 1935, he joined Gray's Inn in London and was called to the bar in 1939.^[citation needed] Knowles worked on Northern Circuit in Liverpool.[3] In 1939, be married Harriet Hughes in Liverpool.[4]

Knowles was later admitted to the Bahamas Bar and appointed Assistant Attorney-General of the Bahamas in 1948.[3]

Legal career

He was the President of the Senate of the Bahamas from 1964 to 1972.[5] In 1973, he became the first Chief Justice in the newly independent Bahamas, a position he held until 1978.[6][7] He had to be sworn in before the Bahamian Independence Day on 10 July 1973 because it was his duty to swear in the first prime minister. He was made CBE in 1963, and Knight Bachelor in the Queen's 1974 Birthday Honours.[8]

Later life and death

After his retirement, he moved to the United States to live with his son in Macon, Georgia. He died on 23 September 1999.

References

1. "Leonard Joseph Knowles". Find A Grave. 15 January 2004. Retrieved 1 January 2015.
2. "Gray's Inn Exhibitioner". Liverpool Daily Post. 16 August 1939. p. 4.
3. "She is Disappointed: Husband will meet the Princess; Wife too Late". Liverpool Echo. 16 February 1955. p. 9. Retrieved 9 May 2024.
4. "Bride's Head-dress of White Shells". Evening Express. 8 July 1939. p. 5. Retrieved 9 May 2024.
5. Knowles, Sir Leonard J. (1989). "Elements of Bahamian Law".
6. Dorsett, Sidney (July 4, 1973). "Leonard Knowles Sworn in as the First Bahamian Chief Justice in 63 Years". Tribune newspaper. p. 1. Retrieved 6 May 2024.
7. "Former Justices of the Supreme Court" (PDF). Supreme Court of the Bahamas. Archived from the original (PDF) on 1 January 2015. Retrieved 7 July 2012.
8. "No. 46315". The London Gazette (Supplement). 7 June 1974. p. 6837.