Richard Lovett was born on January 5, 1851, in Croydon, Surrey, England.

He was an English clergyman, editor, and author. He spent part of his childhood with his parents in Brooklyn, N.Y. (1858–1967). Leaving school at an early age, he was employed by a New York publisher. In 1867, he returned to England and entered Cheshunt College in 1869. He graduated from London University (B.A. in philosophy, 1873, M.A., 1874) and was ordained to the ministry of the Countess of Huntingdon's Connexion. In 1882, he changed direction and was appointed book editor of the Religious Tract Society. He then became a director of the London Missionary Society. Interest in missionary work brought him into close touch with James Chalmers (New Guinea) and James Gilmour (Mongolia), both of whose lives he described in his books "James Gilmour of Mongolia" (1892) and "Tamate: The Life of James Chalmers for Boys" (1903). In 1899, he became one of the secretaries of the Religious Tract Society, charged with the Society's continental interests, while retaining much of his former work as a book editor. He revisited the United States as a delegate to the ecumenical missionary conference of 1900. Lovett was a prolific author of periodical articles and books.

In 1879, he married Anna Hancock Reynolds (1855–1949). He died on December 29, 1904, in Clapham, Surrey, England.