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THE POPULAR SCIENCE MONTHLY. 



and that of his sons, was imperishably enrolled among those which a 

 grateful country will cherish." 



A patent issued to Colonel Stevens by the British Government in 

 1805, and a section of a "safety-tubular" boiler subsequently built oil 

 the same plan, and used on a locomotive, are preserved in the Stevens 

 Institute of Technology, at Hoboken, New Jersey. 



Geokge Stephenson. 



58. In 1814 George Stephenson, to whom is generally accorded the 

 honor of having first made the locomotive-engine a success, built his 

 first engine at Killing-worth, England. 



* 



It had been found during the previous year, by Blaekett & Head- 

 ly, whose engine is still preserved at the South Kensington Patent 

 Museum, that the slipping of the wheels could be avoided without 

 recourse to extraordinary contrivances, and Stephenson made his en- 

 gine a success, using smooth wheels. 



At this time, Stephenson was by no means alone in the field, for 

 the idea of applying the steam-engine to driving carriages on com- 

 mon roads and on railroads was beginning to attract considerable 

 attention. 



Stephenson, however, combined in a very fortunate degree the ad- 

 vantages of great natural inventive talent and an excellent mechani- 

 cal training, his characteristics as an engineer reminding one strongly 

 of those of James Watt. Indeed, Stephenson's portrait bears some 

 resemblance to that of the great inventor. 



59. George Stephenson was born in Wylam, in the north of Eng- 

 land, near Newcastle-upon-Tyne, and was the son of a " north-country 



