The New International Encyclopædia/Atkyns, Robert

AT′KYNS, Sir Robert (1621-1709). An English jurist and Lord Chief Baron of the Exchequer. He was descended from a family of distinguished lawyers. In 1659 he entered Richard Cromwell's Parliament as member for Evesham, and was evidently of the King's party, as he was made Knight of the Bath at Charles's coronation (1661). He became Judge of the Court of Common Pleas in 1672, but, owing to his dissatisfaction with the court interference with the independence of judges, he resigned in 1679. When the case against Lord William Russell was instituted in 1683, Atkyns prepared two decisions which brilliantly demonstrated the groundlessness of the charge brought against that nobleman. Upon the accession of William III. he became Lord Chief Baron of the Exchequer, a position which he held until 1693. His Parliamentary and Political Tracts constitute a valuable contribution to the history of the time.