Sir Edward Henry - Sheffield Terrace, London, UK
Posted by: Groundspeak Regular Member Master Mariner
N 51° 30.330 W 000° 11.728
30U E 694629 N 5709770
This English Heritage blue plaque indicates that the Metropolitan Police Commissioner, Sir Edward Henry, "lived here 1903 - 1920". The plaque is attached to a building on the south east side of Sheffield Terrace.
Waymark Code: WMTM82
Location: London, United Kingdom
Date Posted: 12/09/2016
Published By:Groundspeak Premium Member bluesnote
Views: 0

The full wording on the English Heritage blue plaque is:

English Heritage

Sir
Edward
Henry
1850 - 1931
Metropolitan Police
Commissioner
1903 - 1918
and pioneer of
fingerprint
identification
lived here
1903 - 1920

The Kensington and Chelsea website has an article about Sir Edward Henry that advises:

Henry spent many years in India with the Civil Service. Here he met and married Louisa Langrishe in 1890. They had three children.

Posted to Bengal in 1873 he was made Inspector-General of Police in 1891. After secondment to the Transvaal police force he returned to England in 1901, becoming assistant commissioner of the Metropolitan Police. Promoted to commissioner in 1903 he proved an excellent manager and brilliant policeman. However, it was his work on Sir William Herschel’s use of fingerprints for recording illiterate contractors that marked him out. Through correspondence with Francis Galton and practical work with sub-inspectors Aziz-ul-Haque and Hem Chandra Bose, Henry developed this into a form of criminal identification. His system was accepted in India in 1897 and in Britain in 1899. He published Classification and Uses of Fingerprints in 1900 and established the first fingerprint bureau at Scotland Yard in 1902, recording 5155 prints by 1905. After retiring in 1918 he continued this work.

While living in Sheffield Terrace he narrowly avoided assassination by Alfred Bowles. Dropped off from work by his official car he was shot on his doorstep. The reason for the attack was that Scotland Yard had refused Bowles’ request for a cab licence, in hindsight a very wise decision.

Blue Plaque managing agency: English Heritage

Individual Recognized: Sir Edward Henry

Physical Address:
19 Sheffield Terrace
London, United Kingdom


Web Address: [Web Link]

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