1224 Henry Roby

Constituency : Eccles  1890-95

Henry  took  Eccles  from  the  Tories  after  the death  of  their  MP.

Henry  was  a  solicitor's  son  from  Tamworth. He  was  educated  at  Bridgnorth  Grammar  School and  Cambridge. He  was  a  top  classics  student  at  the  latter  and  stayed on  to  become  a lecturer and  private  tutor  until  1860. He  then  spent  three  years  as  under  master  at  a  school  in Dulwich  during  which  time  he  published  An  Elementary  Latin  Grammar. In   1864  he  became secretary  of  the  Schools  Inquiry  Commissionand  wrote  much  of  its  final  report. From  1866  to 1868  he  was  professor  of  jurisprudence  at  University  College  London. In  1874  Henry   abruptly  changed  tack  and  became  a  partner  in  his  father  in  law's  cotton  firm  near Manchester  buying  out  a  certain  Friedrich  Engels. He  held office  in  numerous  regional  Liberal bodies.

Henry  was  known  as  a  radical.

Henry  retired  from  business  in  1894  and  stood  down  from  Parliament  at  the  1895  election. He  retired  to  the  Lake  District.

Henry  published  a  number  of  scholarly  works  on  Roman  law.

He  died  in  1915  aged  84.