William Ernest Henley

Henley was born in Gloucester in 1849. He was educated at Crypt Grammar School, and the University of St. Andrews. His father, a bookseller died when Henley was a teenager.

At age 12 Henley was diagnosed with tubercular arthritis that required the amputation of one of his legs. The other leg was saved by surgery performed by Joseph Lister. While recovering, he began to write poems, including ‘Invictus’, meaning unconquered. His poems deal with the themes of inner strength and stoicism.

He published collections of poetry, notably ‘A Book of Verses ’(1888), ‘London Voluntaries’ (1893), and ‘Hawthorn and Lavender’ (1899). He edited the Scots Observer,. His friendships included the writer, Rudyard Kipling, and artists James Whistler and Auguste Rodin. Henley was also a friend of Robert Louis Stevenson.

Henley died in 1903 in Woking, near London.