Full description

Oil painting. Unknown artist.
Hangs in the Wood Memorial Hall

George Stephenson (9 June 1781 – 12 August 1848) was a British civil engineer and mechanical engineer. Renowned as the “Father of Railways”, Stephenson was considered by the Victorians as a great example of diligent application and thirst for improvement. Self-help advocate Samuel Smiles particularly praised his achievements. His chosen rail gauge, sometimes called “Stephenson gauge”,was the basis for the 4 feet 8+1⁄2 inches (1.435 m) standard gauge used by most of the world’s railways.

Learn more about him on Wikipedia [here](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Stephenson)