Henry James Sumner Maine was a smart person who lived a long time ago. He used to write a lot about laws and how people used to live in different countries. He was born in England in 1822, which was a very long time ago!
When Maine was a little boy, he liked to learn about things. He went to school and studied hard. When he grew up, he became a professor at a big university in England. He taught law, which is a set of rules that people follow to help keep them safe and happy.
Maine noticed that people in different parts of the world followed different laws, even though they all wanted to stay safe and happy. He thought that it was because people's cultures and histories were different. For example, in some places, people followed rules made by their leaders. In other places, people just did what their families had always done.
Maine wrote a lot of books about law and history. He wanted people to understand how laws worked in different countries and why they were important. He even came up with a new idea called "legal evolution." This means that laws change over time because people and their cultures change. For example, people used to think it was okay to own other people as slaves, but now that is illegal in most places because we know it is wrong.
Maine was a very smart and important person who helped us understand how laws and cultures work together. Even though he lived a long time ago, we still remember his ideas today!