Edward Jenks (1861-1939) was a jurist and writer. He was educated at Dulwich College from 1874 to 1877 but left at sixteen to be articled to a solicitor. He came up to King's College in 1883, the year after he qualified. He became director of studies in Law and History at Jesus College, Cambridge, in 1888-9, then was elected a Fellow of King's College, which position he only held for one year before moving to Australia.

Later the same year Jenks left England to become Dean of the faculty of law in the University of Melbourne