Horace Bixney, an American lawyer, born in Philadelphia, Jan. 4, 1780. He was long one of the leaders of the Philadelphia bar, and has published "Reports of Cases in the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania from 1799 to 1814" (6 vols., Philadelphia, 1809-'15), and a number of legal pamphlets, addresses, etc. He was for many years director in the first bank of the United States, and acted as trustee in winding up the affairs of that institution. He took no prominent part in national politics until the election of Gen. Jackson; but he then came forward in opposition to that administration, and was elected to congress. In that body he immediately obtained a commanding position. Since his retirement from political life his most celebrated effort was the defence of the city of Philadelphia in the supreme court against the suit brought by the heirs of Stephen Girard. The arguments of Mr. Binney and others in this case have several times been printed in book form by the city of Philadelphia. His sketch entitled "The Leaders of the Old Bar of Philadelphia" (1859) gives a viyid portraiture of some of the remarkable jurists of the time.

In 1862 he published two pamphlets on "The Privilege of the Writ of Habeas Corpus under the Constitution," in defence of the power of the president to suspend the writ without a previous authority from congress. In a third essay written in 18(35 he showed that the suspension of the writ does not involve the right to proclaim martial law or arrest a citizen without a warrant and cause assigned.