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Proctor, a variant of the word procurator, is a person who takes charge of, or acts for, another. The word proctor is frequently used to describe someone who oversees an exam or dormitory.

The title is used in England in three principal senses:

1. In law, a proctor is an attorney or solicitor acting in some courts.
2. In the church, a proctor represents the clergy in Church of England dioceses.
3. In education, a proctor is 1) the name of university officials in certain universities, or 2) a supervisor during an exam.

Law[link]

Historical legal officers[link]

A proctor was a legal practitioner in the ecclesiastical and admiralty courts. Historically, they were licensed by the Archbishop of Canterbury to undertake the duties that were performed in common law courts by attorneys and in the courts of equity by solicitors. Later, the Judicature Acts of 1873 and 1875, which created the Supreme Court of Judicature, combined the three roles into the common profession of "solicitor of the Supreme Court".

In the admiralty courts, a proctor or procurator was an officer who, in conjunction with the King's Proctor, acted as the attorney or solicitor in all causes concerning the Lord High Admiral's affairs in the High Court of Admiralty and other courts. The King's Proctor so acted in all causes concerning the King.

Current legal officers[link]

The Queen's Proctor (or King's Proctor) is the proctor or solicitor representing the Crown in the courts of probate and divorce. The office has for many years been combined with that of the Treasury Solicitor, whose formal title is Her (or His) Majesty's Procurator-General and Treasury Solicitor. In petitions of divorce, or for declaration of nullity of marriage, the Queen's Proctor may, under direction of the Attorney General, intervene in the suit for the purpose of arguing any question that the court deems expedient to have argued. His or her powers are set out in section 8 of the Matrimonial Causes Act 1973, and include the power to show cause against a decree nisi being made absolute, usually on receipt of information indicating that the court has been misled into granting a decree. (See also the Family Proceedings Rules 1991 (as amended), Rule 2.46).

Proctors is a term that still survives in Western Australia. Until it was amended in 1992 and later superseded by the Legal Profession Act in 2008, the Legal Practitioners Act 1893 provided for legal practitioners in Western Australia to be admitted and entitled to practise as "practitioners". That term was then defined as 'a person admitted and entitled to practise as a barrister, solicitor, attorney and proctor of the Supreme Court of Western Australia, or in any one or more of these capacities'. Whilst it was theoretically possible to apply for admission in any of these capacities, as there was no separate qualification for such separate admissions, the standard practice (pre 1992) was for all persons to be admitted as barristers, solicitors and proctors of the Supreme Court of Western Australia. Many survive today.

Ecclesiastical[link]

A representative of the clergy in convocation. In the Convocation of the English Clergy an ecclesiastical proctor represents either the chapter of a cathedral or the beneficed clergy of a diocese. In the Province of Canterbury two proctors represent the clergy of each diocese; in that of York there are two for each archdeaconry. Every chapter is represented by one proctor.

Education[link]

Proctor has two completely different meanings in education: it either refers either to a high official in certain universities, or to any teacher or other staff member at a university, secondary school or even elementary school when they are supervising the administration of a test or examination. In British and Australian English, persons acting in this capacity are referred to as invigilators.

Cambridge University[link]

The early history of the office at Cambridge is obscure, but it seems that the proctors have always represented the colleges in university proceedings. In the past the Proctors administered the university's finances, acted as examiners for all candidates for the B.A., prosecuted anyone suspected of unfair trading, and had a multitude of other tasks. At present their functions are twofold (1) as taking part in all university ceremonials, (2) as enforcing discipline in the case of members of the university who are in statu pupillari (undergraduates and Bachelors of Arts and Law).

Election[link]

At Cambridge University the proctors are nominated every May by colleges identified in a predetermined cycle. They then serve from 1 October for one year, assisted by their Deputy Proctors and two Pro-Proctors. They must be a member of the senate for three years, and have resided two years at the university. The two pro-proctors are not, as at Oxford, nominated by the proctors, but are also elected by the senate on the nomination of the colleges, each college having the right to nominate a pro-proctor the year next before that in which it nominates the proctor (Grace of February 26, 1863). Two additional pro-proctors are also elected by the senate each year, on the nomination of the vice- chancellor and proctors, to assist the latter in the maintenance of discipline (Grace of June 6, 1878). The Proctors for 2009-10 are The Revd Jeremy Caddick (Senior Proctor) of Emmanuel College and the Revd Lindsay Yates (Junior Proctor) of St John's College.

Ceremonial functions[link]

The proctors are ex-officio members of the Board of Scrutiny and of various other bodies. Their presence is essential at all congregations of the senate, at which the senior proctor reads all the graces (already approved by the council of the senate). If any grace is opposed by any member of the senate saying non placet the proctors take the votes of those present and announce the result. Graces are offered not only for making changes in university statutes and ordinances and for appointing examiners and the like, but also for granting degrees. When a degree is to be taken the college of the candidate presents a supplicat or petition for the degree, this petition is approved by the council of the senate, when they have satisfied themselves that the candidate has fulfilled the conditions, and is read at the congregation by the senior proctor: these supplicats are practically never opposed, but graces for new statutes and ordinances are frequently opposed, and on very important occasions many hundreds of non-resident members of the senate come up to record their votes.

Disciplinary functions[link]

The proctors' powers as to discipline have a very long history. As far as concerns members of the university they have authority to impose certain fines for minor offences, such as not wearing academical dress on occasions when it is ordered, and also to order a man not to be out of his college after a certain hour for a certain number of days (gating). In the case of more serious offences the proctor generally reports the matter to the authorities of the offenders college to be dealt with by them, or as an ultimate resort brings the offender before the university court of discipline, which has power to rusticate or expel. The power of the proctors over persons who are not members of the university dated from charters granted by Elizabeth I and James I, which empowered the university authorities to search for undesirable characters, men and women, rogues, vagabonds, and other personas de male suspectas, and punish them by imprisonment or banishment. In recent times this power was regularly exercised with respect to women of bad character. The proctors promenaded the streets attended by their servants (the bulldogs), who are always sworn in as special constables. If occasion arose the proctor could arrest a suspected woman and have her taken to the Spinning House (for which Thomas Hobson the carrier had left an endowment); the next day the woman was brought before the vice-chancellor, who had power to commit her to the Spinning House; as a general rule the sentence was not for a longer period than three weeks. For this purpose the vice-chancellor sat in camera and the jurisdiction had nothing to do with that of the vice-chancellor's court. In 1898 attention was called to this procedure by the case of a girl named Daisy Hopkins, who was arrested and committed to the Spinning House. Application was made on her behalf to the Queens Bench Division for a writ of habeas corpus, and when the application came on it appeared that there had been a technical irregularity (the prisoner not having been formally charged when brought before the vice-chancellor); so the writ was granted and the prisoner released. She afterwards brought an action against the proctor, which failed. It was now decided to abolish the practice of hearing these cases in camera. The whole practice was, however, objected to by the authorities of the town, and after conference an agreement was arrived at, the proctorial jurisdiction over persons not members of the university being abolished (1904).

The Junior Proctor has special responsibility for university societies and for resolving disputes arising from the Cambridge University Students' Union and the Graduate Union.

The Special Pro-Proctor for Motor Vehicles is responsible for licensing the keeping and using of motor vehicles (other than mopeds) within 10 miles (16 km) of Great St Mary's Church by University students who have not yet reached MA status and are in residence in term or in the Long Vacation period of residence. The Motor Proctor also has the power to impose a fine of up to £175 for students breaching the regulations on the keeping and using of motor vehicles.

Oxford University[link]

1674 engraving of a Proctor in the University of Oxford. From Habitus Academicorum, by George Edwards.

The Proctors of Oxford University are senior officers of the University who are responsible for enforcing University discipline and sanctions, for handling complaints against the University, and for conducting formal examinations (at the Examination Schools). They are elected annually by the colleges. Two Proctors are elected each year; a Senior and Junior Proctor.^[1]

The reform of the university statutes in 2002 re-organised the disciplinary system of the University and reduced the powers of the Proctors. However, they still act as ombudsmen for the University, and handle formal complaints by and against students (although more minor disciplinary matters are usually dealt with by the Dean of each college). They have the power to issue fines to members of the University for numerous offences, including cheating in examinations.^[2]

Prior to 2003, the Proctors were aided in disciplinary matters by the Oxford University Police (who wore bowler hats and were generally known as "Bulldogs"); the University Police were a private constabulary with full powers of arrest within the precincts of the University and within four miles (6 km) of any University building.^[3][4] However, after receiving public criticism in 2002 for their exercise of authority over citizens of Oxford who were not members of the University,^[5] the force was disbanded in 2003 by the University Council, due partly to the excessive expense of complying with new Government requirements on police training and complaints procedures.^[6][7] Today, the Constables have been redesignated as "Proctors' Officers" and continue to serve under the Proctors, but no longer have the powers of police constables.

See also[link]

• Lector

References[link]

•  This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). Encyclopædia Britannica (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. 

External links[link]

• Cambridge University Proctors

Napoleon Hill
Portrait of a young Napoleon Hill
Born	(1883-10-26)October 26, 1883 Pound, Virginia
Died	November 8, 1970(1970-11-08) (aged 87)
Occupation	author, journalist, attorney, lecturer
Nationality	United States
Period	1928–1970
Genres	non-fiction, how-to, treatise
Subjects	personal development, self-help, motivation, finance, investment
Literary movement	personal development, self-help
Notable work(s)	Think and Grow Rich The Law of Success Success Through a Positive Mental Attitude
Influences Andrew Carnegie, W. Clement Stone, Thomas Edison, John D. Rockefeller
Influenced W. Clement Stone Og Mandino
Signature
The Napoleon Hill Foundation naphill.org the napoleon hill foundation
Literature portal

Napoleon Hill (October 26, 1883 – November 8, 1970) was an American author who was one of the earliest producers of the modern genre of personal-success literature. He is widely considered to be one of the great writers on success.^[1] His most famous work, Think and Grow Rich (1937), is one of the best-selling books of all time (at the time of Hill's death in 1970, Think and Grow Rich had sold 20 million copies).^[2] Hill's works examined the power of personal beliefs, and the role they play in personal success. He became an advisor to President Franklin D. Roosevelt from 1933 to 1936. "What the mind of man can conceive and believe, it can achieve" is one of Hill's hallmark expressions.^[3][4] How achievement actually occurs, and a formula for it that puts success in reach of the average person, were the focal points of Hill's books.

Life and works[link]

According to his official biographer, Tom Butler-Bowdon, Napoleon Hill was born in a one-room cabin near the Appalachian town of Pound, in Southwest Virginia.^[5] Hill's mother died when he was eight years old, and his father remarried two years later. At the age of 13, Hill began writing as a "mountain reporter" for small-town newspapers in the area of Wise County, Virginia. He later used his earnings as a reporter to enter law school, but soon he had to withdraw for financial reasons.^[6]

Influence of Andrew Carnegie (1835–1919)[link]

Andrew Carnegie

Hill considered the turning point in his life to have occurred in the year 1908 with his assignment, as part of a series of articles about famous and successful men, to interview the industrialist Andrew Carnegie. At the time, Carnegie was one of the most powerful men in the world. Hill discovered that Carnegie believed that the process of success could be outlined in a simple formula that anyone would be able to understand and achieve. Impressed with Hill, Carnegie asked him if he was up to the task of putting together this information, to interview or analyze over 500 successful men and women, many of them millionaires, in order to discover and publish this formula for success.^[7]

As part of his research, Hill interviewed many of the most famous people of the time, including Thomas Edison, Alexander Graham Bell, George Eastman, Henry Ford, Elmer Gates, John D. Rockefeller, Sr., Charles M. Schwab, F.W. Woolworth, William Wrigley Jr., John Wanamaker, William Jennings Bryan, Theodore Roosevelt, William H. Taft and Jennings Randolph. Hill was also an advisor to two presidents of the United States of America, Woodrow Wilson and Franklin Delano Roosevelt.^[8]

The Philosophy of Achievement[link]

Napoleon Hill holding his book Think and Grow Rich

As a result of Hill's studies via Carnegie's introductions, the Philosophy of Achievement was offered as a formula for rags-to-riches success by Hill and Carnegie, published initially in 1925 as a multi-volume study course called The Law of Success, later re-released in 1928 in an abridged version under the same title. The Achievement formula was detailed further and published in home-study courses, including the seventeen-volume "Mental Dynamite" series until 1941.

Hill later called his personal success teachings "The Philosophy of Achievement", and he considered freedom, democracy, capitalism, and harmony to be important contributing elements to this philosophy. Hill claimed throughout his writings that without these foundations upon which to build, successful personal achievements were not possible. He contrasted his philosophy with others' and thought that the Achievement Philosophy was superior. He felt that it was responsible for the success Americans enjoyed for the better part of two centuries. Negative emotions such as fear, selfishness, etc., had no part to play in his philosophy. Hill considered those emotions to be the source of failure for unsuccessful people.^[9]

The secret of achievement was tantalizingly offered to readers of Think and Grow Rich, but Hill felt readers would benefit most if they discovered it for themselves. Although most readers feel that he never explicitly identified this secret, he offers these words about 20 pages into the book: If you truly desire money so keenly that your desire is an obsession, you will have no difficulty in convincing yourself that you will acquire it. The object is to want money, and to be so determined to have it that you convince yourself that you will have it. . . You may as well know, right here, that you can never have riches in great quantities unless you work yourself into a white heat of desire for money, and actually believe you will possess it.

He presented the idea of a "Definite Major Purpose" as a challenge to his readers in order to make them ask themselves, "In what do I truly believe?" According to Hill, 98% of people had few or no firm beliefs, and this alone put true success firmly out of their reach.^[10]

One of Hill's most moving stories was about his own son, Blair. He tells how his son was an inspiration to him, because although Blair was born without ears, without any normal hearing organs at all, even though his doctor told Hill that his son would neither be able to hear nor speak, Blair grew up to be able to hear and speak almost normally. Hill tells how his son, in his last year of college, picked up the manuscript of chapter two of Think and Grow Rich, discovered Hill's secret for himself and went on to be an inspiration for hundreds and thousands of people who could not hear or speak.^[11]

From 1952 to 1962, Hill taught his Philosophy of Personal Achievement – Lectures on "Science of Success" in association with W. Clement Stone.^[12] In 1960, Hill and Stone co-authored the book, Success Through A Positive Mental Attitude. Norman Vincent Peale stated "These two men [Hill and Stone] have the rare gift of inspiring and helping people...In fact, I owe them both a personal debt of gratitude for the helpful guidance I have received from their writings." ^[13]

Think and Grow Rich remains the top seller of Napoleon Hill's books – a perennial best-seller after 70 years (Business Week Magazine's Best-Seller List ranked Think and Grow Rich as the sixth best-selling paperback business book 70 years after it was first published).^[14] Think and Grow Rich is listed in John C. Maxwell's A Lifetime "Must Read" Books List. ^[15]

Hill's numerous books have sold millions of copies, showing that the secret of achievement is still highly sought-after by many today. Hill dealt with many controversial subjects through his writings including racism, slavery, oppression, failure, revolution, war and poverty. Persevering and then succeeding in spite of these obstacles using the Philosophy of Achievement, Hill stated, was the responsibility of every human.^[10]

Today's philosophy-of-success teachers still use the research formulas taught by Hill to expand their students' knowledge of personal development.^[15]

Bibliography[link]

• The Law of Success (1928)
• The Magic Ladder To Success (1930)
• Think and Grow Rich (1937)
• How to Sell Your Way through Life (1939)
• Success Through a Positive Mental Attitude (1960)
• You Can Work Your Own Miracles (1971)
• Napoleon Hill's Keys to Success: The 17 Principles of Personal Achievement
• Grow Rich!: With Peace of Mind
• The Master-Key to Riches
• Succeed and Grow Rich Through Persuasion
• Outwitting the Devil (2011) ISBN 978-1-4027-8453-8

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: Napoleon Hill

• Napoleon Hill Quotes
• Article on Hill's life from Success magazine
• Napoleon Hill (1883–1970) – Find A Grave Memorial