Henry Nicholas Ridley (1855-1956) was a british botanist. In the year 1877 he graduated the academic degree of Bachelor of Arts at the Exeter College in Oxford. In 1877 Henry Nicholas Ridley became a member of the Linnean Society of London and 1907 also of the Royal Society. From 1880 – 1888 he was engaged as a botanist at the british museum.
In the year 1888 he went to Singapore and was managing the botanical garden. His biggest merit was the establishment of the rubber industry on the Malay peninsula, which brought him the nickname Mad Ridley or Rubber Ridley.
Henry Nicholas Ridley described a vast number of orchids, in honour to him, German botanist Rudolf Schlechter named an orchid genus after him, the Ridleyella. Henry Nicholas Ridley died at the 24.10.1956 in Kew, Surrey, England.His author abreviation: Ridl.