The World's First Railway DEATH - William Huskisson, UK

William Huskisson PC  (11 March 1770 – 15 September 1830) was a British statesman, financier, and Member of Parliament for several constituencies, including Liverpool. He is best known today, however, as the world's first widely reported railway casualty as he was run over by George Stephenson's locomotive engine Rocket.

Huskisson is the first person in history whose death from a railway accident, in 1830, has been widely noted. (Earlier deaths due to being struck by a steam locomotive occurred in 1821 and 1827, and fatal boiler explosions in 1815 and 1828.) While attending the opening of the Liverpool and Manchester Railway, Huskisson rode down the line in the same train as the Duke of Wellington.

A contemporary drawing of Rocket
Pic by wiki user Duncharrest

At Parkside Railway Station, close to Newton-le-Willows in Lancashire, the train stopped to observe a cavalcade on the adjacent line. Several members of the duke's party stepped onto the trackside to observe more closely. Huskisson went forward to greet the duke. As Huskisson was exiting his car, the locomotive Rocket approached on the parallel track. As the train drew close he held on to the open carriage door, but the door was wider than the gap between the two trains and The Rocket struck it, forcing Huskisson off balance and under its wheels.  His leg was horrifically mangled. The wounded Huskisson was taken by a train (driven by George Stephenson himself) to Eccles. When he reached hospital he was given a massive dose of laudanum. After being told his death was imminent he made his will, and died a few hours later.



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