8. George Stephenson (And His Son, Robert; Both Unknown)
North-East-born father-son duo George and Robert Stephenson are remembered for their huge contribution to engineering - with the former building the first-ever public inter-city railway line to use steam locomotives, the Liverpool and Manchester Railways, in 1830. George is remembered as the "Father of the Railways", while Robert has been dubbed "the greatest engineer of the 19th Century" - but neither accepted knighthoods when they were offered to them on several occasions throughout the 1800s by Queen Victoria. It is likely due to George Stephenson's humble upbringing in Wylam, Northumberland - where he was raised by poor, illiterate parents - that the pair rejected the honours on political grounds.
NUFC editor for WhatCulture.com/NUFC. History graduate (University of Edinburgh) and NCTJ-trained journalist. I love sports, hopelessly following Newcastle United and Newcastle Falcons. My pastimes include watching and attending sports matches religiously, reading spy books and sampling ales.
