Henry Hamilton (c. 1853 – 4 September 1918) was an English playwright, lyricist, and critic. He is best remembered for his musical theatre pieces.
Hamilton was born at Nunhead, Surrey. He was educated at Christ's Hospital. Originally an actor, he debuted in 1873 at the Theatre Royal, Edinburgh. He later appeared in London at the Lyceum Theatre and the Drury Lane. He retired from the stage in 1883 and turned to writing plays, his first being A Shadow Sceptre. His most popular theatre pieces included The Duchess of Dantzic (1903), Veronique (1905) and The Little Michus (1907). He was also the author of the popular song "Private Tommy Atkins".
He died at Sandgate, Kent.
Stolen Orders, play, with Cecil Raleigh 1915, turned into a motion picture in 1918
The Whip, play, with Raleigh, 1912, turned into motion pictures in 1917 and 1928
Autumn Manoeuvres (1909), the English version of Tatárjárás, a musical play by Emmerich Kalman with a Hungarian libretto by Karl von Bakony and R. Bodanski. It had been produced as The Gay Hussars in America in 1909 and was then adapted for the English stage by Hamilton; lyrics by Percy Greenbank.
The Sins of Society, play, with Raleigh, 1909, turned into a motion picture in 1915
Moths, adaptation of Ouida's 1880 novel
La Tosca, adaptation
Expiation, play, 1909
The Little Michus, musical comedy, book (English translation of book by Albert Vanloo and Georges Duval), 1907
Veronique, comic opera, book (English adaptation of French libretto by Vanloo and Duval), 1905
The Duchess of Dantzic, romantic light opera, 1903, book and lyrics, music by Ivan Caryll (based on the play Madame Sans-Gêne by Victorien Sardou)
The School Girl, musical, 1904, book
The King's Musketeer, romantic play, 1899 (after the novel The Three Musketeers by Alexandre Dumas)
The Great Ruby, play, with Raleigh, 1898, turned into a motion picture in 1915
The White Heather, play, with Raleigh, 1897, turned into a motion picture The White Heather in 1919
Dick Whittington and His Cat, an 1894 pantomime version of this tale.
The Derby Winner, produced in the United States under the title The Sporting Duchess, melodrama, with Augustus Harris and Cecil Raleigh, 1895, turned into motion pictures in 1915 and 1920
Carmen, with Prosper Mérimée, play (from the opera by Georges Bizet)
Handfast, play, with Mark Quinton, 1897
Harvest, play, 1886
Our Regiment, 1883
A Shadow Sceptre
The Royal Oak, play, with Harris, turned into a motion picture in 1923
The Hope, play, with Raleigh, turned into a motion picture of the same name in 1920
The Best of Luck, play, with Raleigh and Arthur Collins, turned into a motion picture in 1920