Henry William Ravenel (May 19, 1814 – July 17, 1887) was an American planter and botanist.

He studied fungi and cryptogams in South Carolina, discovering a large number of new species.

Henry William Ravenel was born on May 19, 1814, on the Pooshee Plantation in Berkeley County, South Carolina.

He wrote in September 1865 "There must ... be stringent laws to control the negroes, & require them to fulfill their contracts of labor on the farm.

of South Carolina, was botanist of the government commission to Texas in 1869 and was agricultural editor of the Weekly News and Courier.