Edward Theodore Salvesen was born on 20 July 1857 in Leith, Scotland, son of the ship-owner Christian Salvesen. He studied law at Edinburgh University, becoming a barrister in 1880 and Queen's Counsel in 1899. Between 1901 and 1905, he served as Sheriff of the Counties of Roxburgh, Berwick and Selkirk. In 1905, he was appointed Solicitor-General for Scotland, and later in the same year was appointed Judge of the Court of Session of Scotland, a post he held until his retirement in 1922.
Between 1929 and 1933, he served as Lord Rectors Assessor on the Courts of Edinburgh University, and was a member of the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council. Salvesen was the president of the Royal Zoological Society of Scotland and served as president of the Royal Scottish Geographical Society between 1920 and 1926. He was knighted in 1926 and died on 23 February 1942.
From the guide to the Theodore Salvesen collection, 1910-1913, (Scott Polar Research Institute, University of Cambridge)
