The Story of the life of George Stephenson, Railway EngineerBy Samuel Smiles. Published 1859 by John Murray. First editionThis illustrated biography of the celebrated British railway pioneer George Stephenson (1781-1848), is an abridged version of a fuller biography by Samuel Smiles. It was intended to be more accessible to the layman and suitable for educational purposes. There are 40 illustrations by Edward Whymper.Stephenson was a civil engineer and mechanical engineer and is celebrated as the father of the railways. His Locomotion No. 1 was the first steam locomotive to carry passengers on a public rail line, the Stockton and Darlington Railway, in 1825. He also built the first public inter-city railway line in the world to use locomotives, the Liverpool and Manchester Railway, which opened in 1830.His chosen rail gauge, sometimes called \"Stephenson gauge\", was the basis for the 4ft 8.5in (1.435m) standard gauge used by most of the world\'s railways.Author Samuel Smiles was a Victorian self-help advocate and published the full biography of George Stephenson in 1857. It was attacked as biased in the favour of Stephenson at the expense his rivals as well as his son, but was popular and 250,000 copies were sold by 1904.The book not only covers Stephenson’s railway successes but his invention of a mining safety lamp (at the same time as Sir Humphrey Davy) and his early work in the coal mining industry developing winding and pumping machinery. Original green \'pebble-grain\' cloth, lettered and decorated in gilt to spine. Brown endpapers. Small neat inscription on front title page.