Herman Merivale, permanent under-secretary in the Colonial Office, was born on 8 November
1806 in Devonshire, England. He was educated at Oriel College, won a scholarship to
Trinity College in 1825, received a fellowship at Balliol in 1828, and was an Eldon
scholar by 1831. 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 1860, Merivale transferred
to the India Office as the 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,
London. During his career, Merivale was awarded a KCB but he refused as he
saw no use for it.
Rather he found his happiness and relaxation in poetry and writing -- including one
of his known works:
Lectures on Colonization.