Trevithick, Richard (1771–1833)

The first beam engines, early types of steam engine, were patented by Richard Trevithick, a Cornish mining engineer, in the first decade of the 19th century. They were used to pump water out of the mine and to bring men and ore to the surface. In recent years several engines and engine houses have been fully restored.

English engineer, constructor of a steam road locomotive in 1801, the first to carry passengers, and probably the first steam engine to run on rails in 1804.

He also built steamboats, river dredgers, and threshing machines.

Trevithick was born in Illogan, Cornwall. As a boy he was fascinated by mining machinery and the large stationary steam engines that worked the pumps. He made a working model of a steam road locomotive in 1797 and went on to build various full-sized engines.

Trevithick's road locomotive Puffing Devil made its debut on Christmas Eve 1801, but burned out while he and his friends were celebrating their success at a nearby inn.

By 1804 he had produced his first railway locomotive, able to haul 10 tonnes and 70 people for 15 km/9.5 mi on rails used by horse-drawn trains at a mine in Wales. He set up in London in 1808 giving novelty rides on the engine Catch-me-who-can. Then in 1816 he left England for Peru. When he returned, after making and losing a fortune, he found that steam transport had become a thriving concern. Trevithick had been overtaken, and he died a poor man.