Richard Trevithick
The Engineer and the Man

This 1934 study of the life and work of Trevithick places his achievements in the context of the Industrial Revolution.

H. W. Dickinson (Author), Arthur Titley (Author)

9781108016353, Cambridge University Press

Paperback / softback, published 31 October 2010

356 pages, 58 b/w illus. 1 map 1 table
22.9 x 15.2 x 2 cm, 0.52 kg

To mark the centenary of Richard Trevithick (1771–1833) H. W Dickinson and Arthur Titley published a fascinating book on the engineer and his work. They succeed in producing a work which appeals to the scientist, the historian and the general reader, without feeling obliged to over-simplify the technical details. Today best remembered for his early railway locomotive, Trevithick worked on a wide range of projects, including mines, mills, dredging machinery, a tunnel under the Thames, military engineering, and prospecting in South America. The book and other centenary activities helped to restore Trevithick's rather neglected reputation as a pioneering engineer of the Industrial Revolution, although his difficult personality and financial failures caused him to be overshadowed by his contemporaries such as Robert Stephenson and James Watt. The book places his achievements in their historical context, and contains many illustrations of his inventions.

Preface
List of plates
List of figures in the text
Chronology of the life and work of Richard Trevithick, Civil Engineer
1. Introductory
2. Early life in Cornwall
3. The field widens
4. Invention at flood-tide
5. The great adventure
6. Last flashes of his genius
Trevithick portraiture
Memorials to Richard Trevithick
Letters patent for inventions
Bibliography
Pedigree of Trevithick family
Index.

Subject Areas: Automatic control engineering [TJFM]