Edward Pease
From Freepedia
For the English socialist, writer and co-founder of the Fabian Society (1857-1955), see Edward R. Pease.
Edward Pease (31 May 1767 - 31 July 1858) was an English railway owner.
Pease was born in Darlington in 1767 and was educated locally and at a Quaker boarding school in Leeds. He was active in his family's wool business, but turned his attention to something new at the age of 50. He wanted to see a railway line that would link the collieries in County Durham with the port at Stockton-on-Tees and persuaded businessmen to back the plan. His plan was approved by Parliament in 1821.
Pease planned a horse-drawn railway until George Stephenson persuaded him to use his steam locomotive instead. The Stockton and Darlington Railway was opened on September 27, 1825.
In 1829 Pease retired from the railway and his son Joseph took over. He supported the Anti-Slavery movement and also supported Elizabeth Fry in her prison reform campaign.
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Categories: 1767 births | 1858 deaths | Rail transport in Great Britain | Important people in rail transport | Quakers
