Friedrich Heinrich Blume (1875 – 1971), or Fred H. Blume, as he referred to himself, was a Justice of the
Wyoming Supreme CourtThe Wyoming Supreme Court is the highest court in the U.S. state of Wyoming. The Court consists of a Chief Justice and four Associate Justices. Each Justice is appointed by the Governor of Wyoming for an eight-year term. The five Justices select the Chief Justice from amongst themselves...
. He was born in
WinzlarRehburg-Loccum is a city 50 km north west of Hanover in the district of Nienburg in Lower Saxony, Germany.- Geographical location :Rehburg-Loccum borders the Steinhude Lake...
,
GermanyGermany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a country in Central Europe. It is bordered to the north by the North Sea, Denmark, and the Baltic Sea; to the east by Poland and the Czech Republic; to the south by Austria and Switzerland; and to the west by France, Luxembourg, Belgium,...
, January 9, 1875. He served as a Justice of the Wyoming Supreme Court for 42 years and single-handedly translated into English
Justinian’s Code and the
Novels, two parts of the
Corpus Juris CivilisThe Corpus Juris Civilis is the modern name for a collection of fundamental works in jurisprudence, issued from 529 to 534 by order of Justinian I, Eastern Roman Emperor....
. (See
Justinian IFlavius Petrus Sabbatius Iustinianus ; AD 483 – 13 or 14 November 565, known in English as Justinian I or Justinian the Great, was the second member of the Justinian Dynasty and Eastern Roman Emperor from 527 until his death...
for a profile of this Emperor.) The following is a time-line of key points in Mr.
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Friedrich Heinrich Blume (1875 – 1971), or Fred H. Blume, as he referred to himself, was a Justice of the
Wyoming Supreme CourtThe Wyoming Supreme Court is the highest court in the U.S. state of Wyoming. The Court consists of a Chief Justice and four Associate Justices. Each Justice is appointed by the Governor of Wyoming for an eight-year term. The five Justices select the Chief Justice from amongst themselves...
. He was born in
WinzlarRehburg-Loccum is a city 50 km north west of Hanover in the district of Nienburg in Lower Saxony, Germany.- Geographical location :Rehburg-Loccum borders the Steinhude Lake...
,
GermanyGermany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a country in Central Europe. It is bordered to the north by the North Sea, Denmark, and the Baltic Sea; to the east by Poland and the Czech Republic; to the south by Austria and Switzerland; and to the west by France, Luxembourg, Belgium,...
, January 9, 1875. He served as a Justice of the Wyoming Supreme Court for 42 years and single-handedly translated into English
Justinian’s Code and the
Novels, two parts of the
Corpus Juris CivilisThe Corpus Juris Civilis is the modern name for a collection of fundamental works in jurisprudence, issued from 529 to 534 by order of Justinian I, Eastern Roman Emperor....
. (See
Justinian IFlavius Petrus Sabbatius Iustinianus ; AD 483 – 13 or 14 November 565, known in English as Justinian I or Justinian the Great, was the second member of the Justinian Dynasty and Eastern Roman Emperor from 527 until his death...
for a profile of this Emperor.) The following is a time-line of key points in Mr. Blume’s life.
- 1875 - Born Friedrich Heinrich Blume in Winzlar, Germany on Jan. 9.
- 1887 - Immigrates to the U.S., by himself, to join his elder brother, Wilhelm.
- 1892 - Settles in Audubon, Iowa
Audubon is a city in Audubon County, Iowa, United States. The population was 2,382 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Audubon County. Audubon is home to a gigantic bull statue, Albert the Bull...
where he works & completes high school.
- 1895 - Enrolls at the State University of Iowa.
- 1898 - Graduates, Phi Beta Kappa.
- 1899 - Admitted to the practice of law in Iowa.
- 1905 - Moves, with his wife, to practice law in Sheridan, Wyoming
Sheridan is a city in Sheridan County, Wyoming, United States. The population was 15,804 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Sheridan County.-Geography and climate:Sheridan is located at ....
.
- 1907 - Begins political career.
- 1912 - Backs Theodore Roosevelt’s
Theodore Roosevelt was the 26th President of the United States. He is well remembered for his energetic persona, his range of interests and achievements, his model of masculinity, and his "cowboy" image. He was a leader of the Republican Party and founder of the short-lived Bull Moose Party...
Bull Moose partyIn the United States, the Progressive Party of 1912 was a political party created by a split in the Republican Party in the presidential election of 1912. It was formed by Theodore Roosevelt when he lost the Republican nomination to William Howard Taft and pulled his delegates out of the convention...
; when it fails, decides to retire from politics; begins reading history of Western civilization & building extensive library on the subject.
- 1919 - Learns there is no English translation of Justinian’s Code.
- 1920 - Appears to have begun his Code translation.
- 1921 - Appointed to Wyoming Supreme Court.
- 1923/24 - Completes first draft of translation.
- 1929 - Has revised version typed; teaches Roman law at Northwestern University Law School at the invitation of Dean John Henry Wigmore
John Henry Wigmore was a U.S. jurist and expert in the law of evidence. After teaching law at Keio University in Tokyo , he was the dean of Northwestern Law School...
.
- 1933 - Receives letter from Clyde Pharr asking him to join Pharr’s “Project for a Variorum Translation into English of the Entire Body of Roman Law,” with Blume’s translation of the Code to be used as the basis for the Project’s version of that document.
- 1938 - Addresses Riccobono Seminar on The Code of Justinian, and its Value.
- 1939 - Ceases work on the Code translation as his hopes for publication fade.
- 1943 - Pharr renews contact with Blume & revives scaled-down version of translation program to be called “The Corpus of Roman Law”; Blume re-reads Code translation & annotations, makes changes, & sends copy to Pharr; works with Pharr & others on Theodosian Code translation (for which Blume’s own translation of Books XIV-XVI and part of Book X prove very helpful).
- 1951 - Theodosian Code translation published by Princeton University Press
The Princeton University Press is an independent publisher with close connections to Princeton University. Its mission is to disseminate scholarship within academia and society at large....
as first volume in “The Corpus of Roman Law” series; Blume specially noted by Pharr in preface.
- 1952 - Reviews Code translation again in anticipation it being the subject of the project’s next publication.
- 1956 - Accepts that his Code translation will not be published in his lifetime.
- 1963 - Retires from the Court.
- 1971 - Fred H. Blume dies on September 26, at age 96.
Justice Blume’s translations of the
Code and the
Novels, as well as his Riccobono
Seminar address,
The Code of Justinian, and its Value were published on the web in
2007 as the
Annotated Justinian Code. A 2nd edition of the Annotated Justinian Code, containing numerous editions and corrections, was published in 2009.