Henry William Herbert

Henry William Herbert, America's first professional writer on sport, was born in London on 7 April 1807. Descended from aristocracy on both sides of his family, he was the grandson of Henry Herbert, first Earl of Caernarvon. His father, The Honorable and Reverend William Herbert, Member of Parliament and later Dean of Manchester, was a noted author and naturalist. Herbert was educated at Eton and Cambridge, but soon after his graduation in 1830, he committed some grave but mysterious indiscretion that caused him to flee to the continent. One biographer speculated that the cause was bankruptcy and a writ of outlawry; another suspected unpaid gambling debts. Herbert himself, later in life, said that a dishonest trustee absconded with his f