Stephenson, George

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Stephenson, George (1781–1848). Son of a colliery workman, without schooling, George Stephenson became one of the most famous of all engineers. Beginning work at the age of 8, in early manhood he earned a reputation for managing the primitive steam-engines employed in collieries. In 1815 he invented a safety lamp for use in coal-mines, after risking his life repeatedly in earlier tests. He was responsible for the adoption of locomotives by the Stockton and Darlington railway and then the Liverpool and Manchester railway. His Rocket was triumphantly successful in the Rainhill trials of 1829. When he recommended the use of locomotives on these early railways, he knew that the available machines could not provide the necessary power, but he was confident that these technical problems would be overcome. This moral courage, and his innate ingenuity, paved the way for later railway contracts and aided Stephenson's rise to wealth and distinction.

Norman McCord

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