Hendrikus Jacobus Gorter (1874–1918) was a Dutch cyclist, speed skater and ice skates manufacturer from Zwolle.

Jacob was a son of Durk Jans Gorter and Hendrica Posthuma, and born in Harlingen.

In 1890 he was admitted to the Machinist College at the Plantage Muidergracht in Amsterdam, where he was taught metalworking, forging and other technical skills.

His passions included ice skating and cycling and he enjoyed participating in competitions.

In the following years he participated in competitions across the country and became a member of several cycling clubs, including in Zwolle and Rotterdam.

One of his main competitors was cyclist and speed ice skater Jaap Eden (1873-1925).

During one of the last races of his career, the Grand Prix of Amsterdam on 16 August 1898, Henri finished in the second place after Guus Schilling, and Jaap Eden came third.

[3] Henri participated in several Dutch ice skating competitions and, although he wasn't as successful as on the bicycle, he earned silver and bronze medals in the winter of 1884-1895.

[3][7] In 1896, Henri developed a new model, called the Rodenhuis-Kingma skates, in collaboration with Ype Rodenhuis and sprinter Marten Kingma, although it is unclear if this design was originally from the Hercules factory.

From 1897, Henri also produced Pierce bicycles in his factory, and eventually sold a wide range of brands in 'Gorter's sport store' in the Diezenstraat, Zwolle.

[3][8] Around the turn of the century the Dutch winters were mild, which meant less frozen waterways to skate on.

[3] From 1908 he worked as representative for the cash register firm Cord and Van Erk in Amsterdam.