Henry Campbell-Bannerman was born on September 7, 1836, in Glasgow, Scotland.

He was a British Liberal politician. He attended Glasgow University (1851–1853) and Trinity College, Cambridge (1854–1858). After graduating, he joined the family firm of J. & W. Campbell & Co. and became a partner in 1860. In 1869, he was elected to the House of Commons as the Liberal Member of Parliament for the Stirling Burghs, a constituency that he would represent for almost forty years. He was appointed Financial Secretary to the War Office (1871-1874, 1880-1882), Parliamentary and Financial Secretary to the Admiralty (1882-1884), and Chief Secretary for Ireland in 1884. Campbell-Bannerman served as Secretary of State for War (1886, 1892-1895), and in the 1906 general election, he led the Liberal Party to a victory over the Conservative Party. He served as the Prime Minister of the UK from 1905 until 1908. In 1907, being the Member of Parliament with the longest continuous service, Campbell-Bannerman became the Father of the House, the only serving British Prime Minister to do so.

In 1860, he married Sarah Charlotte Bruce (1840–1906). He died on April 22, 1908, in London, England.