Matthew Henry Barker (1790 - 1846)

Matthew Henry Barker

Matthew Henry Barker is a British writer, journalist and editor.

Barker is known by his pen name The old Sailor. As a young man he served in the Royal Navy and worked for the East India Company before commanding his own schooner and spending several months in captivity.

From 1825, Barker worked as an editor and author for several periodicals and wrote many fascinating accounts of the sea from his own rich experience. Many of these stories, popular at the time, were illustrated by the famous 19th-century artist George Cruikshank.