Robert Mitchell Henry

Born in Belfast on February 11, 1873, Robert Mitchell Henry was educated at Methodist College Belfast and studied classics at Queen's College, Belfast. He went on to become a distinguished scholar of Latin and a major figure in university administration, and he was also the brother of the painter Paul Henry.

His academic career was closely tied to Queen's University Belfast, where he served as Professor of Latin and later took on senior administrative work. After that he held the chair of Humanities at St Andrews and later an honorary chair of Classical Literature at Trinity College Dublin. Alongside his teaching, he was active in Irish historical and cultural life.

Henry wrote on both classical subjects and contemporary politics. His best-known book is The Evolution of Sinn Féin (1920), and his work reflects a mind equally interested in the ancient world and in the making of modern Ireland. He died in 1950.