Henry Cole

Sir Henry Cole, FRSA ( born July 15, 1808 in Bath, † April 18, 1882 in London) was involved as an English civil servant instrumental in many groundbreaking innovations in business and commerce, postal, transport, education and culture.

He was the initiator of the first World's Fair ( Great Exhibition ) in London's Hyde Park in 1851. He was founding director of the South Kensington Museum, from which today's Victoria and Albert Museum emerged.

Under the pseudonym of Felix Summerly, he wrote several books, including

  • A book of stories from The Home Treasury
  • A hand -book for the architecture, sculpture, tombs, and decorations of Westminster Abbey ( 1859)
  • The most delectable history of Reynard the Fox ( illustrated by Aldert van Everdingen ) ( 1846)

His existence since the 1840s friendship with Charles Dickens led to various policy interventions from Dickens. The literary best-known is the short story A Poor Man's Tale of a Patent, which dates back to descriptions Coles.

The Great Exhibition Hyde Park, London Integrated Authority File
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