Edwin Augustus Pratt

Edwin Augustus Pratt (1854–1922) was a British writer and journalist who spent ten years on the editorial staff of The Times. Public information about him is limited, and few details of his life survive, yet the subjects of his works are clear: he wrote mainly on public issues such as railways, canals, agriculture, liquor licensing, and trade unions, showing a sustained concern with Britain's social and economic infrastructure. His representative works include A History of Inland Transport and Communication in England, British Canals: Is Their Resuscitation Practicable?, and The Rise of Rail-Power in War and Conquest, 1833–1914. These works trace the historical development of transport and communication and also examine the role of railways in warfare and expansion, combining documentary research with attention to contemporary policy questions. They remain a useful reference for the study of modern British transport and public policy.