1922 Encyclopædia Britannica/Lawes-Wittewronge, Sir Charles Bennet

LAWES-WITTEWRONGE, SIR CHARLES BENNET, (1843-1911), English sculptor, was born at Teignmouth Oct. 3 1843. The only son of Sir John Lawes of Rothamsted (see ), he was educated at Eton and Cambridge, where he was a notable athlete. Subsequently he devoted himself to sculpture, while doing much also to further the scientific side of the Lawes Agricultural Trust, founded by his father, of which he was chairman. In 1882 he was defendant in a famous libel action, brought by another sculptor, Mr. Belt, for a criticism published in Vanity Fair, imputing dishonesty to Mr. Belt in taking credit for work done by another man. The question of how much a sculptor may be aided by others in work to which he attaches his name was inconclusively debated through a long and costly trial, and the verdict of the jury, awarding £5,000 damages to the plaintiff, was much discussed at the time. He died at Rothamsted, Herts., Oct. 6 1911.