Henry Walton Smith (1738 – 23 August 1792) was an Englishman who was the founder ofW. H. Smith, one of theUnited Kingdom's largest bookselling and newspaper vending businesses.

Brought up inWrington inSomerset, Henry Walton Smith moved toLondon and became a personal assistant toCharles Rogers, an English customs official and art collector.^[1]

In 1792, together with his wife Anna, he founded his news vending business inLondon.^[2]

He died only a few months later^[2] on 23 August 1792.

In 1784 he married Anna Eastaugh, a servant girl (1756-c. 1816), leading to the loss of his inheritance.^[3] They went on to have two sons, Henry Edward Smith andWilliam Henry Smith, and one daughter, Mary Anne Smith.^[4][5]

• Wilson, Charles (1985).First with the News: The History of W.H. Smith, 1792-1972. London: Jonathan Cape.ISBN 978-0-22402-156-2.

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