Portrait of Richard Trevithick

People/engineer

Richard Trevithick

Richard Trevithick (1771–1833), engineer, from United Kingdom.

The lucky break

A mine engineer from 1790, he built his first engine at Ding Dong in 1795 and patented high-pressure steam engines in 1802.1,2

The downfall

Bankrupt in 1811. His mining ventures took him to South America from 1816 to 1827 at a loss. He died an employee of a Kentish foundry.1,2

Legacy

Pioneer of the high-pressure engine and the first steam railway locomotive (1803). In 1816 he went to Peru to install engines in mines.1,2

Story cards

Where next

People

An example ofThomas NewcomenNewcomen's 1712 engine was the pumping model for decades. Trevithick patented high-pressure steam in 1802.3

Sources

  1. Trevithick, Richard Encyclopedia.com (Oxford Companion to British History, Oxford Dictionary of Science entries)
  2. File pages and licence metadata for portraits (via the Commons imageinfo/extmetadata API) Wikimedia Commons
  3. Newcomen, Thomas Dictionary of National Biography, 1885-1900 vol 40 (public-domain text on Wikisource), article by R. B. Prosser

Pictures on this page: Trevithick Richard Linnell.jpg, John Linnell (Public domain).

From the Prospector Trails mining history dataset: each fact links to the source it was checked against. Figures are as the source gives them, in the money of their day. Not investment advice.

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Pictures: Timna in de Negevwoestijn; rotspartij "de zuilen van Salomo", Poll, Willem van de / Europeana (Public Domain Mark 1.0); Dolcoath tin mine, Camborne, Cornwall: miners in a mine shaft, standing on wooden platforms connected by ladders. Photograph by J. C. Burrow, 1890/1910., Burrow, J. C., 1852-1914 (Public Domain Mark 1.0); Earth Observations taken by the Expedition 15 Crew, NASA JSC (Public domain (NASA media, no copyright)); Mijnramp Bois du Caizier, Marcinelle, België. Schacht, Rossem, Wim van / Anefo / Europeana (Public Domain Mark 1.0).