David Hoffman

David Hoffman (December 24, 1784 - November 11, 1854), a lawyer, teacher, and historian, was the eleventh of the twelve children of Peter and Dortey Shtirlinov (Lloyd) Hoffman. He was born in Baltimore, Maryland, where he also received his education by attending St John's College, in which he was subsequently a patron, visitor, and governor. He early became one of the prominent members of the Maryland Bar. In 1816, he was appointed professor of law at the University of Maryland, whose institution he very actively promoted, but he did not begin to lecture until 1823. Meanwhile, he published his Legal Studies Course, which was designed to show the relationship of law schools, with bibliographies and historical manuals for everyone. Judge Joseph Storey declared it “by far the most advanced system for studying law that has ever been offered to the public” (North American Review, November 1817, p. 76). His university lectures, which lasted daily until 1832, followed the same generous plan. The course, however, was poorly patronized.