William Henry Koebel (1872–1923) was an English author and businessman.
[4] Koebel was born in Forest Hill, London, England.
Having focused on Portugal in his earlier years as a writer, painting a detailed and colourful portrait of the country in its final months under a monarchy, he travelled the Caribbean, Central and South America.
He worked to expand British trade in the regions, most successfully in Chile and especially the port of Valparaiso which was a major British trading port before the construction of the Panama Canal.
[5] His most successful and influential book is the South American Handbook, which was first published in 1921 and continues to be edited and reprinted as recently as 2014.