George Stephenson (Shire)

George Stephenson is among the most famous engineers of all time and his rags to riches rise is a stirring story of its kind. Though many of the works attributed to him would today be credited to young subordinates (not least his son, Robert), much of the work of innovative engineers for his period lay not in the work itself but in persuading people that such work was desirable and necessary. It was in this field that George Stephenson excelled, providing openings in which his young proteges could could change the world. They did not let him down, and he fully merits the title The Father of the Railways.