David Kitchin, Lord Kitchin
A Supreme Court Justice who brought a sharp, commercially astute legal mind from the courtroom to the highest bench in the United Kingdom.
Born 1955 (age 71)·British judge·Birthday: April 30·Baby Boomers
Biography
David Kitchin's judicial career traced a path through the complex world of intellectual property and commercial law before reaching the apex of the British legal system. As a barrister, he built a practice specializing in patents and technical disputes, representing clients in landmark cases about pharmaceuticals and technology. Appointed as a High Court judge in 2005, he presided over the Patents Court, where his clear, analytical judgments were highly regarded. His elevation to the Court of Appeal and finally to the Supreme Court in 2018 marked a recognition of his precise intellect and mastery of detailed legal material. On the Supreme Court bench, Lord Kitchin contributed to wide-ranging constitutional and civil decisions, his writing maintaining the clarity he was known for. His tenure, though not the longest, represented the infusion of specialized commercial expertise into the court's broader deliberations.
Baby Boomers
1946–1964
The largest generation in history at the time. Shaped by postwar prosperity, the Vietnam War, the sexual revolution, and Watergate. They questioned every institution their parents built — then ran them.
David was born in 1955, placing them squarely in the Baby Boomers. The events that shaped this generation — postwar prosperity, civil rights, Vietnam, and the counterculture — shaped the world they entered and the choices available to them.
#1 When David Was Born
The biggest hits of 1955
#1 Movie
Lady and the Tramp
Best Picture
Marty
#1 TV Show
The $64,000 Question
David's Life & Times
The world at every milestone
1955Born
Rosa Parks refuses to give up her bus seat
Gas: $0.29/galHome: $9,550Min wage: $0.75/hrPresident: Dwight D. Eisenhower"Rock Around the Clock" — Bill Haley & His CometsBest Picture: Marty
1960Started school
Kennedy-Nixon debates become first televised presidential debates
Gas: $0.31/galHome: $11,900Min wage: $1.00/hrPresident: Dwight D. Eisenhower"Theme from A Summer Place" — Percy FaithBest Picture: The Apartment
1968Became a teenager
Martin Luther King Jr. and Robert Kennedy assassinated
Gas: $0.34/galHome: $14,950Min wage: $1.60/hrPresident: Lyndon B. Johnson"Hey Jude" — The BeatlesBest Picture: Oliver!
1971Could drive
Voting age lowered to 18 in the US
Gas: $0.36/galHome: $18,100Min wage: $1.60/hrPresident: Richard Nixon"Joy to the World" — Three Dog NightBest Picture: The French Connection
1973Could vote
US withdraws from Vietnam; Roe v. Wade decided
Gas: $0.39/galHome: $22,100Min wage: $1.60/hrPresident: Richard Nixon"Tie a Yellow Ribbon Round the Ole Oak Tree" — Tony Orlando & DawnBest Picture: The Sting
1976Turned 21
Apple Computer founded; US bicentennial
Gas: $0.59/galHome: $29,300Min wage: $2.30/hrPresident: Gerald Ford"Silly Love Songs" — WingsBest Picture: Rocky
1985Turned 30
Live Aid concerts raise money for Ethiopian famine
Gas: $1.12/galHome: $62,900Min wage: $3.35/hrPresident: Ronald Reagan"Careless Whisper" — Wham!Best Picture: Out of Africa
1995Turned 40
Oklahoma City bombing; Windows 95 released
Gas: $1.15/galHome: $96,500Min wage: $4.25/hrPresident: Bill Clinton"Gangsta's Paradise" — CoolioBest Picture: Braveheart
2005Turned 50
Hurricane Katrina devastates New Orleans; YouTube launches
Gas: $2.30/galHome: $167,500Min wage: $5.15/hrPresident: George W. Bush"We Belong Together" — Mariah CareyBest Picture: Crash
2015Turned 60
Paris climate agreement; same-sex marriage legalized in the US
Gas: $2.43/galHome: $171,900Min wage: $7.25/hrPresident: Barack Obama"Uptown Funk" — Mark Ronson ft. Bruno MarsBest Picture: Spotlight
2025Turned 70
AI agents go mainstream
Gas: $3.10/galHome: $385,000Min wage: $7.25/hrPresident: Donald Trump"APT." — Rose & Bruno Mars
2026Age 71 today
Gas: $3.91/galPresident: Donald Trump
Key Achievements
- Served as a Justice of the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom from 2018 to 2023.
- Appointed as a Lord Justice of Appeal in 2011, serving in the Civil Division.
- Was the presiding judge of the Patents Court and the Chancery Division of the High Court.
- Co-authored the leading textbook 'Terrell on the Law of Patents' during his time as a barrister.
Did You Know?
He was educated at St. Paul's School in London and later at Magdalene College, Cambridge.
He was appointed a Privy Councillor in 2011.
Before his judicial career, he was a barrister at the prestigious 8 New Square chambers.
He served as the Treasurer of Gray's Inn in 2020, one of the senior roles in the Inn of Court.
“The law must be clear, but clarity often lies in the precise meaning of a single word.”
