Sir Henry Whatley Tyler (7 March 1827 – 30 January 1908) was a pioneering British engineer and politician, who contributed to the Great Exhibition of 1851 and whose collections helped found the Science Museum in South Kensington.

[5] Tyler was appointed an Inspecting Officer for Railways in 1853—a function which is normally carried out by Royal Engineers officers—holding the position for 24 years.

[8] Other important investigations included the Wootton bridge collapse and the Clayton Tunnel rail crash, both of which occurred in 1861.

The former involved failure of cast iron beams supporting the track in a wooden bridge, through which a coal train fell, killing the driver and stoker instantly.

He also reported on the Bull bridge accident when yet another cast iron girder failed suddenly as a train was passing over.

[10][11] In February 1866, Tyler was seconded to government service, and he was taken off the strength of the army the following October, his final rank being Captain.

[16] In 1882 he objected to a Theosophist article against which he raised a charge of blasphemy and became embroiled in a conflict with Annie Besant.