George Heald was a civil engineer active at the beginning of the 19th century, notable for his role in the building of railways that formed part of the Grand Junction Railway, the Lancaster and Carlisle Railway, the Caledonian Railway and the North Midland Railway.
25 Facts About George Heald
1.
2.
George Heald was a colleague and friend of Robert Stephenson and worked with other notable railway engineers such as Joseph Locke and Thomas Brassey.
3.
George Heald's father, Thomas Heald, was a wealthy hatter and parfumier.
4.
George Heald was born to Sarah and was raised in a small family with nine out of ten elder step-siblings having died.
5.
George Heald was educated from a young age in this environment and achieved a high competence in maths as his published material demonstrates.
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Unlike some of his early contemporaries in the construction of railways who were practical men, George Heald was concerned with the theory and science of railway construction.
7.
George Heald was a highly regarded teacher in the field of railway civil engineering.
8.
In 1841 George Heald was living at home in Wakefield with his mother and sister, Eliza.
9.
George Heald held the post of civil engineer on the North Midland Railway between Barnsley and Leeds until at least 1843 when he applied for the post of Borough Surveyor with the Council of the Borough of Leeds and made the shortlist of four.
10.
George Heald was unsuccessful with the post being awarded to another railway engineer.
11.
George Heald argues for the democratising influence of the railway and the cultural and social benefits it will bring rather than the economic reasons that might be expected from a railway engineer:.
12.
The contents of the letter indicate that George Heald was drawing up plans for the North Western Railway; or more precisely the Little North Western Railway.
13.
George Heald's answer suggests that this figure is too low and impossible to achieve:.
14.
Mackenzie's diary records George Heald dining at Mackenzie's house in Liverpool.
15.
In 1851 George Heald was working in Liverpool, staying on the night of the census, at the Royal Waterloo Hotel in Great Crosby.
16.
George Heald was described as a civil engineer and he was accompanied by a land agent, George Williams.
17.
George Heald was just 34 years old and yet he bequeathed his entire estate to his mother, Sarah, who was 71 years old.
18.
However George Heald's health declined further and around the end of 1857 Thomas Brassey was engaged to complete the task.
19.
George Heald died in May 1858 at Market Street, Rugeley, Staffordshire.
20.
George Heald did not hold public office like some of his contemporaries.
21.
George Heald died away from his origins in Wakefield and it seems nobody wrote an obituary.
22.
George Heald was one of the pre-eminent railway engineers of the early nineteenth century.
23.
George Heald naturally cites famous engineers like George Stephenson, Robert Stephenson, Isambard Kingdom Brunel, Joseph Locke and William Cubitt as well as George Heald.
24.
George Heald was a prolific engineer who built many major railways with the Stephensons, Joseph Locke and Thomas Brassey.
25.
George Heald had the ability to communicate these methods in presentations and through publication.