b. 1806-11-08
d. 1874-02-08
Herman Merivale, permanent under-secretary in the Colonial Office, was born on 8 November
1806 in Devonshire, England. He was educated at Oriel College, winning a scholarship
to Trinity College in 1825 and receiving a fellowship at Balliol in 1828. He was called
to the bar at the Inner Temple in 1832. On 2 March 1837, he was elected professor
of political economy at Oxford, where he remained for five years. In 1847, he was
appointed assistant under-secretary in the Colonial Office, and was promoted to permanent
under-secretary in 1848. In 1859, Merivale transferred to the India Office as permanent
under-secretary, a position he held for the remainder of his life.He died on 8 February
1874 at his home in South Kensington.
Dictionary of National Biography (London and New York: Oxford University Press, 1900-) Vol.13, pp. 280-81.