Frederic Harrison

Frederic Harrison 1831-1923, English jurist and sociologist. He served on various law commissions and was (1877-89) professor of jurisprudence and international law under the Council of Legal Education. Most prominent as the leader of English positivism , he was cofounder of, and contributor to, the Positivist Review and was president of the English Positivist Committee. Regarding positivism as an approach to social reform, he worked to obtain a broader electoral franchise, wider primary education, and beneficial labor legislation. Harrison's voluminous works include studies of the law and of literature, biographies, a novel, and a long poem.

Bibliography: See his Autobiographic Memoirs (1911); study by his son Austin Harrison (1926).

Harrison, Frederic (1831–1923), English Positivist. In his earlier years he was a member of the C of E, but he came under the influence of A. Comte and embraced Positivism in 1870. He became the recognized leader in England of that school of thought.

Harrison, Frederic (1831–1923), professor of jurisprudence and international law to the Inns of Court (1877–89), and from 1880 to 1905 president of the English Positivist Committee, formed to disseminate the doctrines of Comte. He was the author of many works on historical, political, and literary subjects, and attracted the censure of M. Arnold in Culture and Anarchy for his challenging remarks on culture.