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Richard Trevithick
Sign in to saveBritish inventor and mining engineer (1771-1833)
Richard Trevithick was a British inventor and mining engineer who lived from 1771 to 1833. He is historically significant for pioneering early steam engine technology, particularly in applications that advanced industrial development during the Industrial Revolution.
AI-generated from the Wikipedia summary — may contain errors.
Wikidata facts
- Instance of
- human
- Given name
- Richard
- Gender
- male
- Citizenship
- Kingdom of Great Britain
- Place of birth
- Tregajorran
- Place of death
- Dartford
- Occupation
- explorer
- Languages spoken
- English language
- Image
- Trevithick Richard Linnell.jpg
Show 11 more facts
- Commons category
- Richard Trevithick
- date of birth
- 1771-04-13
- date of death
- 1833-04-22
- described by source
- Encyclopædia Britannica 11th edition
- manner of death
- natural causes
- name in native language
- Richard Trevithick
- relative
- Andrew Vivian
- cause of death
- pneumonia
- writing language
- English language
- P12749
- Victoria of Baden
- place of burial
- Kent
Sources (1)
via Wikidata · CC0
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Encyclopedic overview
Richard Trevithick (13 April 1771 – 22 April 1833) was a British inventor and mining engineer. The son of a mining captain, and born in the mining heartland of Cornwall, Trevithick was immersed in mining and engineering from an early age. He was an early pioneer of steam-powered road and rail transport, and his most significant contributions were the development of the first high-pressure steam engine and the first working railway steam locomotive. The world's first locomotive-hauled railway journey took place on 21 February 1804, when Trevithick's unnamed steam locomotive hauled a train along the tramway of the Penydarren Ironworks, in Merthyr Tydfil, Wales.
Turning his interests abroad Trevithick also worked as a mining consultant in Peru and later explored parts of Costa Rica. Throughout his professional career he went through many ups and downs and at one point faced financial ruin, also suffering from the strong rivalry of many mining and steam engineers of the day. During the prime of his career he was a well-known and highly respected figure in mining and engineering, but near the end of his life he fell out of the public eye.
Excerpted from Wikipedia’s “Richard Trevithick” article, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.
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