He was born in Sydney to cashier John Henry Black, later general manager of the Bank of New South Wales, and Louisa Skinner.
He attended Sydney Grammar School, and worked for the Bank of New South Wales from 1863.
In 1887 Black was elected to the New South Wales Legislative Assembly as a Free Trade member for Mudgee.
In 1898 he became director of the Bank of New South Wales and also of the Australian Mutual Providence Society.
He was appointed to the New South Wales Legislative Council in 1900, serving until his death at Wollstonecraft in 1928.