William Cumming Henley

William Cumming Henley
Born	6 January 1860[1] Dartmouth, Devon
Died	6 November 1919 (aged 59) Dartmouth, Devon
Nationality	English
Occupation	Ironmonger
Known for	Self taught scientst, naturalist, artist, collector

William Cumming Henley (6 January 1860 – 6 November 1919) was a self-taught scientist, artist and collector who was born, educated^[2] and died in Dartmouth, Devon in England, and whose lifetime collection of artefacts is held in the Dartmouth Museum.^[3][4]

Henley is the subject of a biography, William Cumming Henley: His days and ways.^[5]

References

1. Freeman, Ray. Dartmouth and Its Neighbours - A history of the Port and Its People. Richard Webb. p. 174. ISBN 9780953636167. LIke his father before him [Henley] was an ironmonger and tinsmith, with a shop in Foss Street. Henley was born over the shop, in 1860, one of a large family
2. "The Dartmouth Archives - A Dartmouth History Research Group Project". The Dartmouth Archives. Retrieved 2 March 2012. Prices/Princes Slip - William Cumming Henley went to school here. Taught by Rev. John Clase baptist minister. Headquarters for storage of dried fish from Newfoundland.
3. "The Henley Trail | William Cumming Henley | Ironmonger". Dartmouth Museum. Retrieved 2 March 2012. William wasn't just a shopkeeper. He was a self taught scientist, living at the time of Charles Darwin. Perhaps inspired by Darwin, William created his own scientific instruments, and amassed a large personal collection of specimens and artefacts, things he studied and learned about. Many of these are on display in the museum.
4. "New Display at Dartmouth Museum". Dartmouth News. 13 July 2006. Retrieved 2 March 2012. William Henley (1860-1919) was one of the most remarkable sons of Dartmouth. He was a local ironmonger who, in a lifetime search for knowledge, became a self taught and talented artist, naturalist and botanist, and scientific microscopist. His many water-colours form a unique record of the town at the end of the nineteenth century.
5. Henley, Ellen Pamela (1953). William Cumming Henley: His days and ways (1st ed.). R Cranford. ASIN B0007JRE4O