Herbert Ritchie Spencer FRCP (16 January 1860 – 28 August 1941) was professor of obstetrics at University College London. Spencer wrote numerous articles and books on gynaecological and obstetric topics, as well as on the history of midwifery and the English anatomist and physiologist William Harvey. In 1901, he published an article on breech birth, where he discussed its dangers and encouraged antenatal screening by examining the abdomen for difficult foetal positions, and advised on its management with particular reference to the external cephalic version.