Herbert, Sir Alan (1890-1971), was a British author, poet, and politician. He made legal history with his campaign to reform the United Kingdom’s divorce laws. In the House of Commons, he introduced a private member’s bill that later became law as the Matrimonial Causes Act of 1937. The act did much to make divorce simpler. Earlier, Herbert had highlighted some of the problems and hardships caused by the existing divorce laws in his novel Holy Deadlock (1934). Herbert won a high reputation for his witty, light verse, often signed just with the initials A. P. H. He wrote more than 50 books and the words of many musical plays, including Tantivy Towers (1930) and Bless the Bride (1947).
Herbert was born on Sept. 24, 1890, in Elstead, Surrey. He was educated at Winchester College and Oxford University. He was a member of Parliament from 1935 to 1950. He died on Nov. 11, 1971.
