Philip Henry was a notable English Nonconformist clergyman and diarist born in Westminster, London. Educated at Westminster School and Christ Church, Oxford, he was ordained in 1657 but was ejected from the Church of England by the Act of Uniformity in 1662. Despite facing persecution, he continued to preach privately in Shropshire and Flintshire, becoming a respected leader among Dissenters. His detailed diaries provide a valuable historical record of the religious and social life of his time, and he was the father of the famous Bible commentator Matthew Henry.