Inventor. He designed the famous and historically important steam-powered locomotive named Rocket, and is known as the father of British steam railways. In 1802, he gained employment as an engine-man at a coal mine, where his knowledge of steam engines increased until in 1812 he stopped operating them for a living, and started building them. He designed his first locomotive in 1814, a travelling engine designed for hauling coal on a coal site. Over the next five years, he built 16 more engines. In 1815, he was responsible for discovering the method on which the miner's safety lamp was based, known as the Geordie lamp. As his reputation gathered momentum, he was hired to build an 8-mile railway from Hettor coilery to Sunderland. His was the first railway design to use no animal power at all. In 1821, a project begun on the Stockton and Darlington Railway. He completed the first locomotive for this railway system by 1825, named (Locomotion). The stockton and Darlington Railway opened on the 27 sept 1825. The first purpose-built passenger car (dubbed Experiment) was also in operation, and carried a load of dignitaries for the opening journey. As the Liverpool and Manchester Railway was nearing completion in 1829, the directors' of the railway offered a prize of five hundred pounds and the contract to build the locomotives for the new railway. His entry was Rocket, which reached speeds of up to 30mph, thus winning the contest. Such an impressive performance made it arguably the most famous machine in the world. He was selected as the first president of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers on its formation in 1847. Father of the noted Locomotive-engineer, Robert Stephenson. George Stephenson College in Stockton-On-Tees is named after him. As a tribute to the engineer, a bronze statue of him was unveiled at Chesterfield Station in October 2005.