George Robert Stephenson (20 October 1819 – 26 October 1905) was a British

civil engineer A civil engineer is a person who practices civil engineering – the application of planning, designing, constructing, maintaining, and operating infrastructure while protecting the public and environmental health, as well as improving existing i ...

Life

Stephenson was born to Robert Stephenson Senior (brother of the famed

George Stephenson George Stephenson (9 June 1781 – 12 August 1848) was an English civil engineer and Mechanical engineering, mechanical engineer during the Industrial Revolution. Renowned as the "Father of Railways", Stephenson was considered by the Victoria ...

) in

Newcastle upon Tyne Newcastle upon Tyne, or simply Newcastle ( , Received Pronunciation, RP: ), is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England. It is England's northernmost metropolitan borough, located o ...

. In a family of civil engineers, his father was engineer of

Pendleton Colliery Pendleton Colliery was a coal mine operating on the Manchester Coalfield after the late 1820s on Whit Lane in Pendleton, Salford, then in the historic county of Lancashire, England. John Fitzgerald era John Purcell Fitzgerald, Member of P ...

and Nantlle Railway, while his uncle George Stephenson and cousin

Robert Stephenson Robert Stephenson , (honoris causa, Hon. causa) (16 October 1803 – 12 October 1859) was an English civil engineer and designer of locomotives. The only son of George Stephenson, the "Father of Railways", he built on the achievements of hi ...

were prolific railway engineers. He was educated at

King William's College King William's College () is a co-educational Private schools in the United Kingdom, private school for pupils aged 3 to 18 near Castletown, Isle of Man, Castletown on the Isle of Man. It is a member of the International Baccalaureate and Hea ...

, Isle of Man. It was with Robert that he collaborated most, working together on the South Eastern Railway. Upon Robert's death in 1859 he took over his locomotive works and several collieries.Engineering Timeline
/ref> In the 1860s, Stephenson travelled to

New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...

to supervise the survey and arrangements for the construction of a railway from

Christchurch Christchurch (; ) is the largest city in the South Island and the List of cities in New Zealand, second-largest city by urban area population in New Zealand. Christchurch has an urban population of , and a metropolitan population of over hal ...

, through Mount Pleasant to

Lyttelton Harbour Lyttelton Harbour / Whakaraupō is a major inlet on the northwest side of Banks Peninsula, on the coast of Canterbury, New Zealand, Canterbury, New Zealand; the other major inlet is Akaroa Harbour, which enters from the southern side of the ...

. The Lyttelton rail tunnel is still in use today as the country's oldest operational

rail tunnel A tunnel is an underground or undersea passageway. It is dug through surrounding soil, earth or rock, or laid under water, and is usually completely enclosed except for the two Portal (architecture), portals common at each end, though ther ...

. Stephenson enjoyed a long association with the country, for which he designed several other works in the mid-nineteenth century. He is perhaps most famous for his close relationship with the

Institution of Civil Engineers The Institution of Civil Engineers (ICE) is an independent professional association for civil engineers and a Charitable organization, charitable body in the United Kingdom. Based in London, ICE has over 92,000 members, of whom three-quarters ar ...

. He became a member in 1853 and was elected to the council in 1859. The expansion of the Institution's premises in 1868 was made possible by his donation of land to the rear of his offices at 24 Great George Street. He served as president of the Institution between December 1875 and December 1877. He married Jane Brown in 1846 and had six children. After Jane died in 1884 he soon remarried to Sarah Harrison who died in 1893. He died at his home in

Cheltenham Cheltenham () is a historic spa town and borough adjacent to the Cotswolds in Gloucestershire, England. Cheltenham became known as a health and holiday spa town resort following the discovery of mineral springs in 1716, and claims to be the mo ...

on 26 October 1905.

Honours

* 1880: Knight in the

Order of Leopold Order of Leopold may refer to: * Order of Leopold (Austria), founded in 1808 by emperor Francis I of Austria and discontinued in 1918 * Order of Leopold (Belgium), founded in 1832 by king Leopold I of Belgium * Order of Leopold II, founded in Congo ...

.Handelsblad (Het) 22-08-1880

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Stephenson, George Robert English civil engineers Presidents of the Institution of Civil Engineers 1819 births 1905 deaths Engineers from Newcastle upon Tyne People educated at King William's College