Henry Tennant

Henry Tennant (1823–1910) was a British railway manager who served as General Manager of the North Eastern Railway from 1871 to 1891 and as the long-running chairman of the NER's Locomotive Committee. Although not himself a designer in the engineering sense, the Tennant Class 2-4-0 of 1885 was named in his honour and ordered by the committee under his direction in the absence of agreement among the divisional locomotive engineers.

Born at Hetton, County Durham on 4 December 1823, Tennant began his career as a clerk on the Stockton & Darlington in 1843, rising through the accountant's office to become NER General Manager on the death of William O'Brien. His chairmanship of the Locomotive Committee bridged the period between Edward Fletcher and T. W. Worsdell. He retired in 1891 and lived in Yorkshire until his death on 4 April 1910.