author
Henry de Beltgens Gibbins
1865–1907
A lively late-Victorian writer on economic and industrial history, he helped make big historical changes understandable to general readers. His books were widely read in Britain and abroad, especially his long-popular study of England's industrial past.
1 Audiobook
The Industrial History of England
by Henry de Beltgens Gibbins
About the author
Born in Port Elizabeth, Cape Colony, on May 23, 1865, Henry de Beltgens Gibbins was educated at Bradford Grammar School and then at Wadham College, Oxford, where he studied history. He later became known as a writer and teacher with a gift for explaining economic and social change in clear, readable terms.
Gibbins wrote on commerce, industry, and English social history at a time when these subjects were reaching a broad new audience. His best-known works include The Industrial History of England and The Economics of Commerce, and his writing was popular enough to go through repeated editions and circulate internationally.
He died on November 24, 1907, at the age of 42. Though his life was short, his books helped shape how many readers first encountered economic history: not as a dry list of facts, but as a story about work, trade, and everyday life.