Herbert Macaulay (1864-1945) was a Nigerian political leader. One of the first leaders of the Nigerian opposition to British colonial rule, he was also a civil engineer, journalist, and accomplished musician.

Born in Lagos, Herbert Macaulay was the son of the Reverend Thomas Babington Macaulay, prominent Lagos missionary and educator, and the maternal grandson of Samuel Ajayi Crowther, first African bishop of the Niger Territory. Receiving his early education in the mission schools of Lagos, Macaulay in 1881 became a clerk in the Public Works Department in Lagos. He was recognized as a promising civil servant and in 1890 was awarded a government scholarship to study civil engineering in England, where he spent 3 years. Upon his return to Lagos he was appointed surveyor of crown lands for the colony of Lagos, a position he held until 1898, when he resigned the post.

Macaulay's resignation seems to have been precipitated by his...