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More than 5000 entries on the history, culture and life of Britain (published in 1993 by Macmillan, now out of print)
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Robert Stephenson
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(1803–59) Engineer who built *Rocket for his father, George Stephenson, and in doing so solved the crucial problem of attaching the copper tubes to the boiler. After assisting his father on the *Liverpool and Manchester railway, he became in 1833 the engineer on the London and Birmingham railway, the first main line into the capital city. Later his speciality was the design of bridges, starting with the famous high-level bridge at *Newcastle-upon-Tyne. He pioneered the box-girder design, first used to carry the Chester and Holyhead railway over the river at *Conwy and over the *Menai Strait. He used the same principle for the Victoria Bridge (1854–9) over the St Lawrence river at Montreal, which for many years was the longest span in the world. From 1847 till his death he was Conservative MP for Whitby.
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