 Henry Simon was born in Brieg, Silesia, then a province of Prussia, on 7 June 1835.His father was a director at one of Germany's first railways, which allowed Henry to spend much of his youth in and among the railways; sparking an inclination to study mechanics from an early age.In his teenage years Henry was witness to the revolutionary ferment of 1848 and gradually grew disillusioned with his native country.