George Stephenson: Sparking The Second Industrial Revolution

Since the beginning of time, mankind has developed tools to further propel human progress. From the discovery of fire, to the conduction of electricity, human invention created and discovered ways to ease the burdens and obstacles of life. Technologies develops globally to alleviate the struggles of life; the wheel Ancient Grecian wheel, for example, eased transport; modern use of internet, an intricate interconnection of information allows knowledge to be easily accessible with the tap of a finger. In the years leading up to Western Europe’s rapid industrialization, the majority of Europe's population lived on agrarian rural farms. As the demand for crops increased, inventions such as Jethro Tull’s seed drill, Rotherham Plow, and Four Crop

Sparking the “Second Industrial Revolution” was brilliant George Stephenson, an Englishman who was famously dubbed ‘The father of the railways’. He designed the basic blueprints for the railways that eventually expanded to all Europe.

George Stephenson was born into a coal mining family and followed in the family’s tradition working in the mines. George soon discovered a talent for working with primitive engines. In 1814, he built a locomotive capable of pulling eight wagons filled with 30 tons of coal (“George Stephenson's First Steam Locomotive”, 2014). From there Stephenson created numerous other locomotives and the idea of railroads became widely popularized. In 1840 to 1850, Europe opened 13,000 miles of railways, in 1850 to 1860 17,000, in 1860 to 1870 31,000, and in 1870 to 80 39,000 miles of railroad (Hobsbawm 93). As railroad mileage skyrocketed, so did the number of producing goods. Correspondingly, in 1850, only 19,000 tons were produced, however, in 1880, Britain produced 147,000 tons of coal (Hobsbawm