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George Stephenson

(9 June 1781 – 12 August 1848) was an English civil engineer and mechanical engineer during the Industrial Revolution.[1] Renowned as the "Father of Railways",[2] Stephenson was considered by the Victorians as a great example of diligent application and thirst for improvement. His chosen rail gauge, sometimes called "Stephenson gauge",[i] was the basis for the 4-foot-8+1⁄2-inch (1.435 m) standard gauge used by most of the world's railways.

[8] The method he used was similar to that used by John Metcalf who constructed many miles of road across marshes in the Pennines, laying a foundation of heather and branches, which became bound together by the weight of the passing coaches, with a layer of stones on top. On 11 January 1848,[25] at St John's Church in Shrewsbury, Shropshire,[ citation needed] George married for the third time, to Ellen Gregory, another farmer's daughter originally from Bakewell in Derbyshire, who had been his housekeeper. A Portrait of George Stephenson by painter John Lucas Britain led the world in the development of railways which acted as a stimulus for the Industrial Revolution by facilitating the transport of raw materials and manufactured goods.

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