Herbert Alfred Humphrey MInstCE MIMechE MIEE FCGI (2 December 1868 – 9 March 1951) was a British engineer, inventor of the Humphrey pump.^[1][2][3]

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Humphrey was born in Gospel Oak, London, to Louisa (née Frost, 1831–1911) and John Charles Humphrey (1833–1903). His mother had been a dressmaker before marriage, and his father was a clerk at the London Metropolitan Board of Works and later London County Council. Edith Humphrey, thought to be the first British woman to obtain a doctorate in chemistry, was his younger sister.^[4] He trained at the Finsbury Technical College and the Central Institution (which later became the City and Guilds College).

He patented the Humphrey pump in 1906.^{[citation needed]} During World War I he worked as a chemical engineer, working on improving the production of explosives.^{[citation needed]}

He was awarded the Melchett Medal in 1939 by the Institute of Fuel. In 1945, he retired to Hermanus, Cape Province, Union of South Africa. He died there in 1951.^{[citation needed]}

He was married to Mary Elizabeth Horniblow. They had three sons and two daughters, including the bacteriologist John H. Humphrey.

A collection of Humphrey's papers is held in the archives of Imperial College London.^[2]

• "Herbert Alfred Humphrey". Grace's Guide to British Industrial History. 11 April 2018. Retrieved 21 August 2020.
• Slade, R. E.; Barrett, Anne (23 September 2004). "Humphrey, Herbert Alfred (1868–1951), mechanical and chemical engineer". In Barrett, Anne (ed.). Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/34052. Retrieved 25 March 2021.