The Haymarket Theatre opened in late 1720, only to struggle financially for its first several years. In the 1730s, Henry Fielding staged a series of satires parodying prime minister Robert Walpole. These pieces drew audiences, but they also enraged Walpole sufficiently to prompt him to engineer passage of the Stage Licensing Act of 1737, which initiated the censorship of British drama that continued through most of the twentieth century.

English poet, biographer, essayist, patron of the arts, and friend of William Cowper and William Blake. Hayley is best remembered for his Life of Cowper, a biography which contributed to the foundation of the modern biography.

English magistrate, author, and friend of Dr. Samuel Johnson and Horace Walpole. Sir John Hawkins was author of A General History of the Science and Practice of Music (1776), the first history of music to be published in English, as well as the first full biography of his close friend, the Life of Samuel Johnson (1787).

A schoolmaster, poet, dramatist, novelist, and periodical editor, Hawkesworth had almost no formal education. His literary career began first with poetry, some of which was published in the Gentleman’s Magazine, where he later worked as editor. His stage productions include: Amphitryon; or, The Two Sosias: A Comedy, adapted from John Dryden (1756); Oroonoko: A Tragedy, adapted from Thomas Southerne, (1759); Zimri: An Oratorio (music by Thomas Stanley) (1760); Edgar and Emmeline: A Fairy Tale (1761); and The Fall of Egypt: An Oratorio (music by Thomas Stanley) (1774).

English poet, author of The Example of Vertu (1504); The Passetyme of Pleasure (1509); The Conuercyon of Swerers (1509); A Joyfull Medytacyon to all Englonde of the Coronacyon of Our Moost Natural Soverayne Lorde Kynge Henry the Eyght (1509); and The Comforte of Lovers (1515).

The 1st Baron of Hastings, William Hastings was an English diplomat and soldier, as well as the Master of Mint and Lord Chamberlain of the royal household of King Edward IV. Hastings raised troops for Edward during the Earl of Warwick's Rebellion, supporting the House of York during the Wars of the Roses. Following Edward's death, Hastings took Edward's royal mistress, Jane Shore, as his concubine. Shore encouraged Hastings to oppose the ascension of the Yorkist Duke of Gloucester, later Richard III, to the throne. Upon seizing the throne, Richard had Hastings executed for treason.

Hall Hartson was an Irish poet and playwright who produced only a few works, one of which was the tragedy The Countess of Salisbury (1767), adapted from Thomas Leland’s novel Longsword (1762).

In his Observations on Man, his Frame, his Duty, and his Expectations (1749), physician David Hartley expounded a physiological theory of "vibrations" to explain his conviction that the moral sense was not inborn, but rather a consequence of the association of ideas. Particularly after his work was popularized by Joseph Priestley in his abridgment Hartley's Theory of the Human Mind on the Principle of the Association of Ideas (1775), Hartley's ideas exerted broad influence on literature, philosophy, medicine, psychology, and issues such as education and reform.

Prominent English actor and Royalist soldier during the English Civil War, most likely the son of William Hart, nephew of William Shakespeare. Hart was known for his natural air of dignity which resulted in his frequently playing royal roles.

Political philosopher James Harrington authored The Common-wealth of Oceana (1656), in which he promotes his ideas on the ideal design of a republic.