Macrosty , Henry William , 1865-1941 , civil servant

Henry William Macrosty was born on the Isle of Arran on 14th January, 1865, the eldest of 10 children. In 1881 he obtained University of London BA whilst working in the Civil Service where he was given a permanent appointment in the Exchequer and Audit Department in 1884. He transferred to the newly established Census of Production Office within the Board of Trade in 1907 and became its Assistant Director in 1911. Reorganisation in 1919 resulted in the establishment of a Statistical Department of which Macrosty was appointed Senior Principal. His work for the next 20 years, until his retirement in 1930, was concentrated on gathering statistical information on trade and industry. In retirement he continued to be consulted on statistical issues relevant to trade and industry, including serving on at least one committee for Political and Economic Planning (PEP), one of the forerunners of the Policy Studies Institute.

He was elected a Fellow of the Royal Statistical Society in 1904 and served on its Council from 1917 to 1920 and again from 1925 to 1940 when he became President having served as Honorary Secretary since 1928. He was awarded the Society’s silver Guy Medal in 1927. Macrosty married Edith Julia Bain in 1894 and had two surviving children; he died on 19th January, 1941.

Publications: The Trust Movement in British Industry, 1909; The Annals of the Royal Statistical Society, 1834-1934, 1934.