The son of John Sumner, headmaster of Eton; he was educated at Eton (where he was assistant-master, 1767-90), afterwards at of King's College, Cambridge where he was provost (1797) and vice-chancellor (1798-99 and 1802-03).

CORRESPONDENCE OF Humphrey Sumner:

Francis Hodgson to Humphrey Sumner, 1 October 1807 in Memoir of Francis Hodgson 2 Vols (London: Macmillan and Co., 1878)