Hensleigh Wedgwood (21 January 1803 – 2 June 1891) was a British etymologist, philologist and barrister, author of A Dictionary of English Etymology.

[citation needed] A notable case that came before him during his tenure was that of James Pratt and John Smith in 1835, whom he committed to trial after their arrest for homosexual acts.

[4][5] Wedgwood resigned from the magistracy after deciding that one of his duties, the administrations of oaths, was inconsistent with the commandments of the New Testament.

Huxley was not impressed and suggested the photograph had been produced fraudulently by the use of a second image placed on the plate inside the camera.

[6] Wedgwood was a member of the British National Association of Spiritualists and a vice-president of the Society for Psychical Research.