Question: Facts:   - death place: cannes , france    - signature: signature of sir henry james sumner maine.jpg    - caption: the young maine    - fields: history , law    - death date: 03 february 1888    - workplaces: university of oxford university of cambridge university of calcutta      - birth date: 15 august 1822    - name: henry james sumner maine    - nationality: british    - image: hsmaine.jpg    - birth place: kelso , scotland , uk    - alma mater: pembroke college , cambridge   Based on these bullet points, write a short biography describing the life of henry james sumner maine .
Answer:
sir henry james sumner maine , kcsi -lrb- 15 august 1822 -- 3 february 1888 -rrb- , was a british comparative jurist and historian .he is famous for the thesis outlined in his book `` ancient law '' that law and society developed `` from status to contract . ''according to the thesis , in the ancient world individuals were tightly bound by status to traditional groups , while in the modern one , in which individuals are viewed as autonomous agents , they are free to make contracts and form associations with whomever they choose .because of this thesis , maine can be seen as one of the forefathers of modern sociology of law .