Henry Stephens

Henry Stephens, MRCS (March 1796 – 15 September 1864) was an English doctor, surgeon, chemist, writer, poet, inventor and entrepreneur. At medical school in London he was a friend of, and shared rooms with, poet John Keats, later wrote treatises on hernia and cholera, and conducted experiments to improve writing fluids and wood stains. In 1832 after years of experimentation he created an indelible blue-black writing fluid, patented it in 1837 and later formed the Stephens' Ink company which grew into a worldwide brand with a famous inkblot image. Early life Henry Stephens was born in Holborn, London, the second son of Joseph Stephens (1771–1820) and his wife Catherine (1763–1843), née Farey, but along with his elder brother John was soon moved to more rural Hertfordshire. The family lived briefly in Hatfield where sisters Frances (1798–1860) and Catherine (1800–1855) were born. Around 1801 they moved to Redbourn near St Albans where a fifth child, Josiah (1804–1865) was born. Joseph Stephens became the innkeeper at The Bull, the principal inn and busy staging-post in Redbourn High Street on a main stagecoach route between London and the north.