David Maxwell Fyfe, 1st Earl of Kilmuir

British politician (1900-1967)

David Patrick Maxwell Fyfe, 1st Earl of Kilmuir, GCVO, PC, QC (29 May 1900 – 27 January 1967), known as Sir David Maxwell Fyfe from 1942 to 1954 and as Viscount Kilmuir from 1954 to 1962, was a British Conservative politician, lawyer and judge. During his political career, he was the Solicitor General, Attorney General, Home Secretary and Lord High Chancellor of Great Britain.


The Earl of Kilmuir

Nuremberg sketch by Laura Knight (1946)
Lord High Chancellor of Great Britain
In office
18 October 1954 – 13 July 1962
MonarchElizabeth II
Prime MinisterWinston Churchill
Anthony Eden
Harold Macmillan
Preceded byThe Lord Simonds
Succeeded byThe Lord Dilhorne
Home Secretary
In office
27 October 1951 – 19 October 1954
Prime MinisterWinston Churchill
Preceded byJames Chuter Ede
Succeeded byGwilym Lloyd George
Attorney General for England and Wales
In office
25 May 1945 – 26 July 1945
Prime MinisterWinston Churchill
Preceded bySir Donald Somervell
Succeeded bySir Hartley Shawcross
Solicitor General for England and Wales
In office
4 March 1942 – 25 May 1945
Prime MinisterWinston Churchill
Preceded bySir William Jowitt
Succeeded bySir Walter Monckton
Personal details
Born29 May 1900 (1900-05-29)
Edinburgh, Scotland, UK
Died27 January 1967 (1967-01-28) (aged 66)
Withyham, Sussex, England, UK
NationalityBritish
Political partyConservative
Spouse(s)Sylvia Harrison (died 1992)
Alma materBalliol College, Oxford

Bibliography change

  • Obituaries:
  • Alderman, K. (1992). "Harold Macmillan's 'Night of the long knives'". Contemporary Record. 6 (2): 243–265. doi:10.1080/13619469208581210.
  • Andrew, C. (2009). The Defence of the Realm: The Authorized History of MI5. London: Allen Lane. ISBN 978-0-141-02330-4.
  • Dutton, D. J. (2004)"Fyfe, David Patrick Maxwell, Earl of Kilmuir (1900–1967)", Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, accessed 4 Aug 2007 (subscription or UK public library membership required)
  • Heuston, R. F. V. (1987). Lives of the Lord Chancellors, 1940–1970.
  • Lord Kilmuir (1964) Political Adventure
  • Thorpe, D. R. (1989). Selwyn Lloyd. London: Jonathan Cape Ltd. ISBN 978-0-224-02828-8.
  • Tusa, A. & Tusa, J. (1983) The Nuremberg Trial