Henry Martyn Robert was the author of Robert's Rules of Order

Robert's Rules of Order

Robert's Rules of Order is the short title of a book containing rules of order intended to be adopted as a parliamentary authority for use by a deliberative assembly written by Brig. Gen...

, which became the most widely used manual of parliamentary procedure

Parliamentary procedure

Parliamentary procedure is the body of rules, ethics, and customs governing meetings and other operations of clubs, organizations, legislative bodies, and other deliberative assemblies...

 and remains today the most common parliamentary authority

Parliamentary authority

A parliamentary authority is a manual on parliamentary law, containing rules of order for the transaction of business in deliberative assemblies...

 in the United States.

Robert was born in Robertville, South Carolina

Robertville, South Carolina

Robertville is an unincorporated community in Jasper County, South Carolina. It is named after the Robert family who initially settled in the area and was also the birthplace of Henry Martyn Robert, founder of Robert's Rules of Order. The community is accessible via U.S. Highway 321 and is...

, and raised in Ohio

Ohio

Ohio is a Midwestern state in the United States. The 34th largest state by area in the U.S.,it is the 7th‑most populous with over 11.5 million residents, containing several major American cities and seven metropolitan areas with populations of 500,000 or more.The state's capital is Columbus...

, where his father moved the family because of his strong opposition to slavery

Slavery

Slavery is a system under which people are treated as property to be bought and sold, and are forced to work. Slaves can be held against their will from the time of their capture, purchase or birth, and deprived of the right to leave, to refuse to work, or to demand compensation...

. Robert's father, Reverend Joseph Thomas Robert, later became the first president of Morehouse College

Morehouse College

Morehouse College is a private, all-male, liberal arts, historically black college located in Atlanta, Georgia. Along with Hampden-Sydney College and Wabash College, Morehouse is one of three remaining traditional men's colleges in the United States....

 where there is a dormitory on the campus named after him.