Stephenson, Robert (1803–1859)

English civil engineer. He constructed railway bridges such as the high-level bridge at Newcastle-upon-Tyne, England, and the Menai and Conway tubular bridges in Wales. He was the son of George Stephenson.

The successful Rocket steam locomotive was built under his direction in 1829, as were subsequent improvements to it.

Stephenson was born near Newcastle-upon-Tyne, and began his working life assisting his father in the survey of the Stockton and Darlington Railway in 1821. He managed the locomotive factory his father had established in Newcastle, with a three-year break in South America, superintending some gold and silver mines in Colombia. In 1833 he became engineer for a projected railway from Birmingham to London. The line was completed in 1838, and from then on he was engaged on railway work for the rest of his life.

In 1844 construction began, under Stephenson's supervision, of a railway line from Chester to Holyhead. His bridge for the Menai Straits, in which the railway tracks were completely enclosed in parallel iron tubes, was so successful that he adopted the same design for other bridges. One such, the Victoria Bridge over the St Lawrence at Montréal, Canada, built 1854–59, was for many years the longest bridge in the world.