Lord Atkin of AberdoveyPrint Page

The plaque commemorates the birthplace of Lord Atkin of Aberdovey who was born in Tank Street, Brisbane in November 1867. Lord Atkin became one of the world's most influential common law judges.

The plaque was erected on the 145th anniversay of his birth and the 80th anniversary of his judgement Donoghue v Stevenson.  

Lord Atkin was born on 28 November 1867 in Tank Street, Brisbane. He moved from Brisbane to the United Kingdom with his Welsh mother and siblings in 1870 at the age of three, after the early death of his prominent father, Robert Atkin.

After studying at Magdalen College Oxford and reading for the Bar at Gray's Inn, Lord Atkin served as a judge from 1913 until his death in 1944. He was elevated to the House of Lords in 1928 where he delivered his two most famous judgments in Donoghue v Stevenson in 1932, and Liversidge v Anderson in 1942.

Donoghue v Stevenson, commonly referred to as the “snail in the bottle” case, was a radical step forward in the law of negligence and experts believe that Lord Atkin's judgment contains the most influential statement of legal principle used in the common law world to this day. The case changed the course of the common law by setting the foundation for the tort of negligence, brought about when one party fails to exercise a reasonable standard of care to prevent harm to another, such as in personal injury claims, product liability and consumer law.

Location

Details

Dedication