William Henry Giles Kingston (February 28, 1814 - August 5, 1880), sometimes known as W. H. G. Kingston, was an English author of boys' adventure stories. On February 28, 1814, William Henry Giles Kingston was born in Harley Street, London. He was the oldest child of Lucy Henry Kingston and Frances Sophia Rooke, a granddaughter of Sir Giles Rooke, a Court for Common Pleas Judge. Kingston's paternal grandfather, John Kingston (1736-1820), was a Member of Parliament who, although owning a plantation in Demerara, was a staunch supporter of the Abolition of the Slave Trade. Kingston's father, Lucy, started a wine business in Oporto, and he lived there for many years, making frequent trips to England and establishing a lifelong love of the sea.