George Stephenson (Famous People, Famous Lives)

by Lynne Willey (Illustrator), Lynne Willey (Illustrator), Emma Fischel (Author)

• Used

  Paperback
  2002

  $4.75

  George Stephenson, born in 1781, is known as the father of the railway , but here, the reader learns that he started his working life in a coal mine in North East England. He learned what he knew about the steam engines there. The narrative describes how he noticed that these used up an enormous amount of coal, which had to be brought via horse and cart or canal, then hit upon the idea of inventing a travelling engine that would run on rails. The book shows the reader how, in 1829, when Rocket won a trials competition on the Liverpool-Manchester railway, Stephenson's invention changed forever methods of haulage and travelling. Each title in this series tells the story of a man or woman whose dedication to their chosen cause led to changes that affect all our lives today. Each includes a vivid description of the world in which the famous person lived.