Saturday, November 24, 2007

The world's first railway fatality

William Huskisson, who died after falling under a train at the opening of the Liverpool and Manchester railway in September 1830, is generally held to be the world's first rail casualty. Simon Garfield has written a book about the incident.

But a note buried in today's Guardian Corrections and Clarifications column suggests Huskisson may not deserve this sad accolade:
The Egglescliffe parish register records the death, in 1827, of "a female, name unknown", thought to be a blind beggar woman, and notes she was "killed by the steam machine on the railway".
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2 comments:

  1. Joe Otten25 November, 2007 13:21

    Pah, how can a member of parliament, killed by George Stephenson, driving the Rocket, be less worthy of this accolade than some blind woman who just happened to get there first?

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  2. Radders26 November, 2007 12:29

    Is Huskisson's claim that he was killed by the first passenger killed by a regular passenger service? (as others had died on rails, in pits etc).

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