George Stephenson - by Hunter Davies (Paperback)

About the Book

Much is known about the achievements of George Stephenson and of his infamous creation, the Rocket, yet little is known of the man himself.

Book Synopsis

George Stephenson is the ultimate self-made man. Born in the pit village of Wylam, near Newcastle, and denied a formal education, he would go on to invent machines that transformed the world.

From the moment he began work in the mines at the age of ten, Stephenson displayed an extraordinary gift for repairing and designing machinery, eventually becoming the colliery's resident engineer. Yet he faced relentless class prejudice: Sir Humphry Davy, later President of the Royal Society, dismissed the young pitman as "a thief -- and not a clever thief." It was one of many battles Stephenson fought against the establishment.

Undeterred, he went on to build the world's first public railways -- the Stockton and Darlington in 1825 and the Liverpool-Manchester in 1830. While his groundbreaking achievements and his famous locomotive Rocket are well known, far less is remembered about the man himself.

In George Stephenson, a vivid portrait emerges of a self-taught, determined, and occasionally irascible Geordie whose vision and perseverance laid the foundations for the modern industrial world.

About the Author

From the moment he began work in the pit at the tender age of ten, he showed a natural talent for mending and inventing machines, slowly rising to become the colliery's resident engineer. However, he struggled to break through the class prejudices of the time; indeed, Sir Humphrey Davy, later President of the Royal Society, considered Stephenson (then an unknown pitman) 'a thief and not a clever thief'. This early battle was only one of many that Stephenson waged against the establishment.

Even so, Stephenson went on to build the world's first public railways, the Stockton and Darlington in 1825 and the Liverpool-Manchester in 1830. Much is known of these achievements and of his famous creation, Rocket, yet little is known of the man himself. In George Stephenson a colorful portrait is painted of the self-taught and often testy Geordie, whose Victorian invention is now the backbone of every nation on the planet.