Dr. Henry Holmes Belfield was born on November 17, 1837, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

He grew up in Iowa where he graduated from Iowa State College in 1858 with the degree of B. A. He received his M.A. degrees from Griswold College in 1861 and Iowa College in 1868, and a Ph.D. from Iowa College in 1878. He became the instructor in Greek at Iowa State College, and he served as Principal and Superintendent of Public Schools in Dubuque, Iowa. After he enlisted in the Union Army, he served as an assistant adjutant general in the 8th Iowa Cavalry, being detached at various times to the staff of Brigadier General J. T. Croxton and later Major General E. M. McCook and General Thomas. He was captured in July 1864 and was a prisoner of war at Macon and Charleston, South Carolina until he was exchanged in September 1864. He was severely injured in the battle of Nashville (Dec. 15-16, 1864) when his horse fell upon him. Returning to Dubuque, he served as the Principle of the Third Ward School. In 1866, he was transferred to Chicago where he worked as Principal of Jones School, 1866-1868, Dore School, 1868-1876, and North Division High School, 1876-1882. In 1882, he established the Chicago Manual Training School and became its dean. It was conceived not as a trade school but as a high school that combined training in carpentry, drawing, and machine shopwork with mathematics, science, and language in a program of general education. In 1897, it became part of the University of Chicago.

He died on June 5, 1912, in Ann Harbor, Michigan.