Rowland Macdonald Stephenson
Born9 June 1808
Bloomsbury
Died20 November 1895
Holmfield, Rusthall, Tunbridge Wells
NationalityBritish
EducationHarrow
OccupationCivil engineer
Known forPromoter of the East Indian Railway, author
TitleKnighted (1856), director and deputy chairman of the East Indian Railway Company, chairman of the Pondicherry Railway Company
Spouse(s)Marianne Stephenson (1840); Elizabeth Stephenson Tindall (1883)
ChildrenHad 12 children: Marianne Catherine Stephenson, Rowland MacDonald Stephenson, Frank Stephenson, Henry Goodwyn Stephenson, Caroline Louisa Stephenson, Harriet Agnes Latham
Parent(s)Rowland Stephenson and Mary Eliza Stephenson
RelativesBrother of Cecil Mackintosh Stephenson

Sir Rowland Macdonald Stephenson (9 January 1808 – 1895) was a 19th-century British railway engineer instrumental in the establishment of the East India Railway in British India.[1]

Early life

Born in Bloomsbury on 9 January 1808, into a long-established Cumberland family, Rowland Macdonald Stephenson was the oldest son of banker and politician Rowland Stephenson and wife Mary Eliza.[2] Educated at Harrow, he began work in his father's bank but its failure in 1828 (and his father's consequent exile in America)[3] caused him to move into engineering, at first as London agent for the Gospel Oak Ironworks in Staffordshire. He applied himself to the study of railway engineering and became and associate of the Institution of Civil Engineers in 1836. In 1838 he became secretary of "The Comprehensive Company for establishing Regular Steam Communication with India", which became the "Peninsular and Oriental Steam Navigation Company" in 1840. In 1840, Sir Rowland married Marianne, the daughter of Lieutenant Edward Hederstedt, R.N., and together, they had twelve children.[4] After Marianne's death in 1882, Sir Rowland, at the age of 75, married Elizabeth Tindall, the widow of J. Tindall of Scarborough.

Children

NameDate of birthDate of deathBrief biographyMarriage and children
Marianne Catherine Stephenson1845DNKBorn in Greater London, Marianne was the oldest child.
Rowland MacDonald Stephenson1847DNKBorn in Greater London, Rowland was the oldest son.
Frank Stephenson1848DNKBorn in Kolkata, West Bengal, India.
Henry Goodwyn Stephenson31 January 1853DNKBorn in Kolkata, West Bengal, India.
Caroline Louisa Stephenson5 October 1854DNKBorn in Kolkata, West Bengal, India.

Railroad career

In 1843 he took his family to India, hoping not only to establish railways there, but all the way back to Europe. Sir Rowland was managing director of the East India Railway Company, and his brother Cecil Mackintosh Stephenson,[5] was an agent which started building a line from Calcutta in 1849, and he was knighted for this in October 1856. He advocated an imperial railway to the Chinese government in 1859[6] and a Kowloon–Canton Railway to the Hong Kong Chamber of Commerce in 1864; both proposals were rejected.

Legacy

Authored works

See also

References

  1. "Obituary. Sir Rowland Macdonald Stephenson, 1836-1895". Minutes of the Proceedings of the Institution of Civil Engineers. 123 (1896): 451–462. 1896. doi:10.1680/imotp.1896.19689.
  2. "Rowland Macdonald Stephenson - Graces Guide". www.gracesguide.co.uk. Retrieved 1 April 2017.
  3. "STEPHENSON, Rowland (1782-1856), of Marshalls, nr. Romford, Essex | History of Parliament Online". www.historyofparliamentonline.org. Retrieved 1 April 2017.
  4. "Rowland Macdonald Stephenson - Graces Guide". www.gracesguide.co.uk. Retrieved 1 April 2017.
  5. "Cecil Mackintosh Stephenson - Graces Guide". www.gracesguide.co.uk. Retrieved 1 April 2017.
  6. Smith, Adrian J. Privatized Infrastructure: the Role of Government, pp. 45 ff. Thos. Telford, 1999. ISBN 0-7277-2712-5.


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