Francis de Zulueta

Francis de Zulueta (1878 – 16 January 1958) was the Regius Professor of Civil Law at the University of Oxford from 1919 until 1948. The son of Pedro Juan de Zulueta, a diplomat, by his wife Laura, daughter of Sir Justin Sheil, K.C.B. he was a Fellow of All Souls College, Oxford and a barrister by profession. He was educated at Beaumont College, The Oratory School and read Literae Humaniores at New College, Oxford. He was also the first Roman Catholic Regius Professor since the Reformation and a leading Catholic figure at Oxford for many years. Befriending Tolkien amongst others with whom he debated the nature of good and evil prior to the Lord of the Rings. He was cousin of Cardinal Merry del Val (Secretary of State under Pope Saint Pius X). His son Sir Philip de Zulueta became the Foreign Office representative at No. 10 Downing Street principally under Harold Macmillan and grandson, also Francis, is a leading investment professional in insurance in the city of London and a Knight of Malta.
De Zulueta is an ancient Basque family from the Pamplona region of Northern Spain, tracing ancestry back at least 700 years and connected titles to the Conde de Torre Díaz. This title was awarded by Isabella II of Spain in 1846.