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George Stephenson Facts & Worksheets

George Stephenson was known as the Father of the Railway. A self-taught English civil engineer and mechanical engineer who pioneered rail transport, one of the most significant technological inventions in the 19th century.

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George Stephenson was known as the Father of the Railway. A self-taught English civil engineer and mechanical engineer who pioneered rail transport, one of the most significant technological inventions in the 19th century. They served as the stimulus in Britain’s industrial revolution.

See the fact file below for more information on the George Stephenson or alternatively, you can download our 24-page George Stephenson worksheet pack to utilise within the classroom or home environment.

Key Facts & Information

HUMBLE BEGINNINGS

  • George Stephenson was born on June 9, 1781, at Wylam, Northumberland, England. He was the second child of Robert Stephenson and Mabel Stephenson, who were both illiterate. His father earned a meager wage as a fireman in a local coal mine with no money left for schooling.
  • He grew up in a small cottage next to Wylam Wagonway.
  • When he was 8, he tried to help his parents by doing farm work like cow herding and driving horses to carry the coal carriages.
  • He also worked as an assistant to his father in the mine when he was 14.
  • George knew the value of education. When he became an engineman at Water Row Pit in Newbury at 17 years old, he paid to study at night. After a year, he knew how to read, write, and do arithmetic.
  • He got married at age 19 to Frances Henderson after pursuing two ladies who declined him because of his low status as a miner.
  • They had two children, a son, Robert, and a daughter named Frances. They moved to Dial Cottage at West Moor so he could work as a brakesman in the Killingworth Pit. His daughter died three weeks after she was born. His wife followed a year later due to tuberculosis
  • He temporarily left his son to a local woman and worked in Montrose, Switzerland. He returned after a mining accident made his father blind. His unmarried sister moved in with him and his son to look after Robert while he was working in Killingworth’s mine.
  • He supported Robert’s education, even if it meant taking other jobs after his work in the mine. Robert shared his fascination with engines, and it created a special bond between them.
  • In 1811, he successfully repaired and improved a pumping engine at High Pit, Killingworth. It impressed the owners who promoted him as the colliery’s engine wright. His main job was to maintain and repair colliery engines, making him a local expert on engines.

STEPHENSON’S INVENTIONS

  • Stephenson was aware of the dangers miners faced when they used naked flames while working in the mines. He invented safety lamps for them in 1813 that would burn in a gaseous atmosphere and not cause an explosion.
  • In 1814, he built “Blucher,” his first locomotive. It could haul eight wagons with 30 tons of coal at 4 mph. He later improved it to give a greater pulling power, becoming the first successful flanged-wheel adhesion locomotive.
  • There were also other locomotive creations in his time, but his “Blucher” was unique as the steam engine directly applied the power to the locomotive flanged wheels.
  • For the next five years, Stephenson built sixteen engines mostly for the Killingworth mines, a few for the Duke of Portland’s wagonway.
  • His employer was so impressed with his work that in 1819 he asked him to build an 8-mile long railroad from Hetton town to the River Wear.
  • Stephenson proposed to combine locomotives and stationary engines. It became the first entirely machine-powered railway.
  • Working on this project made Stephenson realize that he could build railways. In 1821, Stephenson arranged a meeting with Stockton and Darlington, the company that was authorized by the British Parliament to build a railway and connect the coal mines in West Durham and Darlington. He told them that his “Blucher” locomotive could replace fifty horses.
  • Stephenson got the project. With his son Robert, they created Robert Stephenson and Company, which produced the railway and locomotives they would use for the project.
  • Stephenson operated his new engine, Locomotion, that could travel along the nine-mile railroad in less than two hours on September 27, 1825.

SUCCESSFUL VENTURES

  • Railways started to replaced canals as the primary way of transporting heavy loads. It meant that the company George and Robert built would be hired to construct other railways, including the Liverpool and Manchester Railway, which linked England’s most important manufacturing centers.
  • In 1828, the railway directors conducted a contest to look for locomotives that could be used on the line. They offered a contract for building the locomotive and a substantial cash prize.
  • The locomotives entered in the contest were required to run up and down the track at Rainhill at 10 miles an hour while hauling a load thrice the locomotive’s weight. The distance is equivalent to a round trip between Liverpool and Manchester.
  • Robert and George’s entry, Rocket, got the prize and confirmed their reputation as the country’s leading locomotive manufacturer.
  • In 1830, Stephenson was credited for building the skew bridge in Rainhill over the Liverpool and Manchester Railway. It was the first to cross any railway at an angle and is still in use at Rainhill Station.

RECOGNITIONS AND LEGACIES

  • The Stephensons helped Britain become a leader in railways’ development, which also served as the stimulus for the Industrial Revolution.
  • George Stephenson used the same gauge to become the standard gauge used worldwide, naming it as Stephenson Gauge.
  • A BBC television show listed Stephenson in the 100 Greatest Britons placing him at no. 65 after a UK-wide vote.
  • A Series E five-pound note issued by the Bank of England between 1990 – 2003 featured George Stephenson.
  • A museum was named after George and Robert calling it The Stephenson Railway Museum in North Shields.

LATER LIFE

  • Stephenson’s success allowed him to buy the Tapton House, a mansion vastly different from the modest cottage he was born and grew up in.
  • A wealthier George Stephenson married Betty Hindmarsh at Newburn. They had no children and Hindmarsh died on August 3, 1845.
  • In 1848, George got married for the third time to his housekeeper Ellen Gregory, a farmer’s daughter from Bakewell, Derbyshire. However, after seven months of being married, he died on August 12, 1848, due to pleurisy. He was buried next to his second wife at Holy Trinity Church, Chesterfield.

George Stephenson Worksheets

This is a fantastic bundle which includes everything you need to know about the George Stephenson across 24 in-depth pages. These are ready-to-use George Stephenson worksheets that are perfect for teaching students about George Stephenson who was known as the Father of the Railway. A self-taught English civil engineer and mechanical engineer who pioneered rail transport, one of the most significant technological inventions in the 19th century. They served as the stimulus in Britain’s industrial revolution.

Complete List Of Included Worksheets

  • George Stephenson Facts
  • Stephenson’s Life
  • The Engineer’s Creations
  • Recognizing Stephenson
  • Timeline Of His Inventions
  • Life in Details
  • The Stephenson Interview
  • Stephenson: Fact or Bluff
  • Biography of a Hero
  • Analysis of the Past
  • Improving Transportation

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Use With Any Curriculum

These worksheets have been specifically designed for use with any international curriculum. You can use these worksheets as-is, or edit them using Google Slides to make them more specific to your own student ability levels and curriculum standards.

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