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Author: Booth, Henry

Biography:

BOOTH, Henry (1789-1869: ODNB)

Although Sebastian: A Tragedy is not recorded in ODNB as one of the works of Henry Booth, railway projector and writer, contemporary reviewers and Boase assume that he was the author. He was the eldest son of Thomas Booth, a corn merchant, and his wife Esther Noble; they had married in St. Mary’s church, Lancaster, on 13 Oct. 1784. He was born on 4 Apr. 1789 in Liverpool, and was educated by the Rev. William Shepherd, pastor of the Unitarian community at Gateacre, near Liverpool. He began work in his father’s business before establishing his own in the same line; it proved to be rather unsuccessful. He married Ellen Crompton on 27 Apr. 1812 at St. Laurence’s church, Chorley, Lancashire. They had two sons and three daughters; the children were baptised in the Presbyterian chapel in Liverpool. In 1822 he and Thomas Booth became involved with the committee to establish a railway line from Liverpool to Manchester and in 1824 Henry succeeded his father as secretary to the committee. He wrote the prospectus for the project in 1829 and served as the effective manager of the Liverpool and Manchester Railway; with later amalgamations of railway companies, he became secretary and then director of the London and North Western Railway. He promoted the use of steam engines and, with Robert Stephenson, developed the Rocket engine. Several of his inventions and improvements were key to the development of railways. He retired in 1859—with a gift of £5000 for his services—and served as a borough magistrate in Liverpool. His Account of the Liverpool and Manchester Railway (1830) remains an important source; his writings on political matters reflect his liberalism. He died on 28 Mar. 1869 at his home of Eastbourne in Princes Park, Liverpool, and was buried at the Toxteth chapel on 1 Apr. 1869. He left effects of under £35000; his wife died in 1871. (ODNB 14 June 2023; Boase; ancestry.co.uk 14 June 2023; The Kaleidoscope 3 [1823], 277-79)

 

 

 

Books written (1):

London/ Liverpool: Rowland Hunter/ the booksellers, 1823